


Silver Lining

by Classybetts



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Character Death, Detective Betty Cooper, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Gun Violence, I Don't Even Know, Kind of enemies to lovers, May married Fred, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Murder, Peter Parker moves to Riverdale, Queens, Slow Burn, Smut, Spider-Man in Riverdale, The Black Hood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:02:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 85,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23657299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Classybetts/pseuds/Classybetts
Summary: When May Parker marries Fred Andrews on a whim, Peter Parker is forced to move to Riverdale, and into the Andrews home. But Betty starts to get the feeling there's something wrong with the new kid. Meanwhile, it gets harder for Peter to keep his secret in a small town, and adjust. Especially, with Betty Cooper around. While attempting to keep his secret from the Nancy Drew of the town, he tries to continue to be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Peter Parker
Comments: 43
Kudos: 77





	1. Welcome to Riverdale

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is for my readers who were around during the old Silver Lining days. If you weren't around, then keep scrolling and enjoy! Okay, this isn't a repost of the old fic I had called "Silver Lining" It's completely new, and rewritten. The concept is all new, and the storyline is a bit different. Some of the chapters might be very similar to some of the old chapters, but I might change it up a bit. The reason I deleted the old version at all was because I felt self conscious about it, and I honestly thought the writing was sloppy, and badly written. But after writing new fan fics after that, I feel I have improved and I am ready to try this story out again, but better! I hope you enjoy, and thank you for all the support.

Riverdale, the town with pep. Betty always thought it was a funny saying. She always tried to please her mother, living up to her expectations, dressing how Alice Cooper would have wanted her to dress. She disapproved of the nights' Betty would spend with her father, fixing cars. Betty never minded the grease and oil that would get on her skin during the process. She glorified it. Spending time with her father, working on cars at the end of the day on a Sunday night was what she looked forward to the most. Those rare moments were getting rarer and rarer, the older she got.

Betty was seventeen now, and it was a warm summer night in Riverdale. School would begin on Monday. It was a Sunday night when she was sitting with her three best friends in Pop's She was a little upset that summer would be ending in just a few hours. But she also missed school. She would be starting her senior year, alongside her closest friends. And her boyfriend. Jughead Jones. They had been together since her sophomore year, despite the few times they actually broke up. They weren't an on and off couple, it was just that Jughead had a rough life, and he never handled it in the best ways. Pushing people who loved him away was his way of coping. But they had officially been together since the beginning of Junior year. They had been stronger than ever. Now, the four friends discussed Archie's new living situation. And the couple of people that were on their way to Riverdale as they spoke, about to change Fred and Archie Andrews life forever. 

"I don't know." Archie was saying. He stared at his milkshake on the table. It had been untouched. "He leaves me home alone for two weeks, comes back, and announces he's married. Just like that." 

"Does your mom know?" Veronica asked. Archie nodded. 

"She doesn't care." He paused. "She has a son. Wait- not a son. Uh, I don't know he's her nephew or something. It's complicated." Betty raised her eyebrows. 

"She? The woman your father got married to? What do you mean she has a nephew?" Betty asked. 

"Well, my dad explained it to me as best as he could. Apparently, Peter's parents died when he was young. So, May is his legal guardian." Archie explained. 

"Well, how old is he?" Veronica asked. Jughead had been silently chewing on a french fry, listening. 

"Seventeen. He's in our grade, and he's going to go to Riverdale high." Archie said although he didn't seem to happy about it. Betty's eyes lit up. 

"Well that's great!" She said enthusiastically. Archie raised his eyebrows at her, and Jughead frowned. 

"How is that great?" 

"Because he's moving to a small town in the city and doesn't know anybody? But since he's living with you, you can help him out." Betty smiled at the thought. Veronica nodded in agreement but said nothing. 

"Hey, I didn't agree to any of this. He's going to stay in _my_ room." Archie snapped. Betty rolled his eyes. 

"Archie, that's not fair. Do you think he's happy with the situation, having to leave the place he grew up in?" Betty shot back. 

"Wait, so his name's Peter?" Veronica asked, cutting in. Archie only nodded. "What part of the city is he from?" 

"Queens." Archie said. Veronica made a face. 

"What?" Jughead asked. 

"Well, that's not exactly the classy part of New York City." She said in disgust. 

"You guys are awful." Betty suddenly said. "Aren't you happy for your father, Archie?" 

"I guess." 

"Good. You better be nice to Peter, and invite him to sit with us at lunch on Monday." She sounded like a mother scolding her son. "Right, Jughead?" She looked at her boyfriend, who looked like he wasn't paying attention. He looked at her and then at Archie. 

"Yeah." He finally said. "Lighten up, man." 

"Whatever. They should almost be here anyway. I should go." Archie said, standing up. They said their goodbyes and then he left. The other three stayed and talked a little bit before eventually going their separate ways. Jughead dropped Betty off at home, before going home himself. After he drove away on his motorcycle, she stopped and stared at the old rusty yellow station wagon in the Andrews' driveway. Something that wasn't there before. She smiled and then continued up her own driveway. Her garage was open, and the light from inside illuminated the outside of the house. The sun was almost completely down, but there was still some light in the sky. Hal Cooper was inside the garage, working on one of their latest projects. Although, they hadn't worked on a car together in a couple of weeks. Their tradition still lived, but barely. 

"Hey dad." Betty said, watching as he looked up from his work at her, and then smiled warmly. 

"Hey, sweetie." He said, before looking back down into the car. The hood was popped up, and he had a wrench in his hand. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt, with some oil stains on it. He let out a breath and wiped his forehead with the back of his arm. The car was a yellow 1963 Porsche model 911. They've had this one for a while. He let out a frustrated sigh. "The engine is blown." He said. Betty looked down at his work. "I'm going to have to buy a new one, and you know how expensive those are." 

"I'm sorry, dad." Betty said softly, rubbing his back. "Need help?" He shook his head. 

"Nope, that's pretty much it." He said, sounding tired. 

"Why don't you take a break?" She asked. He nodded but said nothing. "You meet our new neighbors? Archie told me the news." 

"I saw them pull in when they got here. The mom said hello, but we didn't talk much." He said. Betty thought about telling him that she wasn't Peter's mom, but his aunt. But she thought her father would figure that out by himself eventually. "The boy seems like the quiet type. Didn't look happy to be here." Betty shrugged. 

"Hopefully things work out for them." She said, before starting towards the door. She went inside and walked into the kitchen. Polly wasn't anywhere in sight, but Charles and Alice were there. Charles smiled when he saw her. 

"Hey, Betts." He said. He was doing the dishes. Betty's older brother was twenty-five and didn't live with them. He had his own apartment not too far away, but he liked to hang out at the Cooper house. He and Betty were close, but not so much with Polly. 

"Hello, Elizabeth." Alice said, clipping her words. She was distracted, sitting at the dining table with her laptop open. Betty looked at Charles who rolled his eyes and shook his head. Betty smiled at that. 

"Are you excited for school tomorrow?" He asked. Betty shrugged. 

"I guess. Where's Polly?" She asked. Alice looked up from her screen as Charles imitated smoking with his hands. 

"Charles!" Alice yelled. He only smiled at her. 

"Am I wrong?" He asked. Alice rolled her eyes.

"She's with those awful friends of hers." Alice said. Betty only nodded.

Polly had a history of doing this. Hanging out with her friends, then smoking and getting high with them. Usually, she would come back a couple of days later. Polly was nineteen years old, and she didn't always use to be that way. In a way, she used to be exactly like Betty. She would try her hardest to please their mother and be perfect. Dress the perfect way, get the perfect grades.

But one day she had enough, and after high school, Polly snapped. She was different. She started hanging out with different people. Betty didn't know if Alice knew, but she was sure the people Polly hung out with, were Ghoulies. Gang members. Jughead was the one who told her that there were rumors a Cooper girl had been hanging out in Ghoulie territory, and it sure as hell wasn't Betty. That settled it. Jughead was technically the Serpent Prince. His father was the king. But he didn't like to talk about it or get involved with them. 

Charles, on the other hand, was different. He wasn't perfect, and he never tried to be. But he wasn't like Polly. He was a police officer, and he served under Sheriff Keller, one of Betty's best friends dad. Alice had Charles when she was very young, with Betty's father. But it all eventually worked out in the end. Charles only moved out of their house a few years ago. Being a police officer wasn't a total money maker. But he was comfortable. Polly still lived with Betty and her parents, but one day, Alice Cooper would finally have enough and kick her out. Betty knew it. It was just a matter of when. Betty knew that there was only so much her mother could take. 

"I'll be upstairs." She said before she went up the stairs and to her bedroom without another word. When she got up there, she took her hair out of its ponytail and rubbed the place on her head where it ached from the tightness of the rubber band. She sat on her bed and opened up her laptop before something caught her eye. She thought Archie must have been in his room, but it wasn't Archie. She stood up and walked over to her window. It had to be Peter. He had a metal case open, on Archie's desk, and he was staring at the contents inside. Betty couldn't see what he was looking at. 

When he seemed satisfied, he shut it and then locked it. Betty noticed that the lock on the case was very secure and complicated. But she didn't pay much attention to that. She was looking at Peter. He had long curly brown hair and soft brown eyes. She noticed how sharp his jawline was. He was wearing a baggy sweatshirt, that had to be a size too big for him. A strand of his hair was hanging down on his forehead. She was too focused on his facial features, that she didn't realize he was taking his sweatshirt off, until a few seconds later. 

Betty raised her eyebrows when he took it off all the way and dropped it on the floor. She couldn't help but look at his body. He was more chiseled than one would have thought at first, with his baggy sweatshirt. She let her eyes go over his abs, all the way down to where skin stopped, and his jeans covered the rest. When she looked back up at his face, he was staring directly at her. His eyebrows were raised, his eyes were wide, and his face was red. Betty jumped up, and then let herself collapse down on the floor below the window. It hurt, but she felt extremely embarrassed. 

Betty laid on the floor for a few seconds, before she heard footsteps in the hallway outside of her room. Suddenly the door opened and Charles popped his head through the door. 

"What was that... What are you doing on the floor?" He stared at Betty laying there, and Betty's face heated up. 

"Charles get out!" She yelled, taking her shoe off and throwing it at him. He quickly shut the door and the shoe hit the closed door. Betty huffed out and slowly came back up. She peered out her window across the way and saw that Archie's curtains were tightly shut. Betty flopped on her bed and let out a groan, covering her face. She hated herself at that moment.

She ended up just going to bed and trying to forget about the whole thing, but when she woke up, the memories of the night before immediately came back to her. Betty pushed those thoughts away quickly and began to get ready for the day.

When Betty saw the big concrete building of Riverdale High School, she realized just how much she had missed it over the summer. The thing she missed most was The Blue and Gold. Her and Jughead would be running it again, along with Kevin, and Betty looked forward to it. She realized it would be the last year she would be able to write for the school paper. She shook these thoughts off, and went on into the school, walking down the hallway to go find Veronica. Suddenly, Kevin appeared out of nowhere and came up to her, in a rush. Betty raised her eyebrows when he stopped suddenly as if he didn't see her. 

"Betts, I need a favor." He said hurriedly. Betty frowned. 

"What is it?" She asked. They were standing in the middle of the hallway. 

"Uh, Joaquin needs a favor. It's a series of favors. I can't tell you what it is, just, we have a new student. Give him a tour for me. Principal Weatherbee's orders." He was about to walk away but Betty grabbed his arm. 

"What? That's Peter!" She said as if she expected him to understand. 

"Who's Peter? I have to go, Betty, just find him and give him a tour." Kevin said before shaking her off and rushing towards the entrance of the school. Betty closed her eyes and let out a breath of exasperation. She wondered if she could get away with just not giving him a tour at all. But she knew that was ridiculous. She turned and went to go find Peter.

After a few minutes of wandering the hallway, she spotted him. He was wearing a hoodie, with the hood up over his head, and his backpack slung over one shoulder. Betty noticed the beat-up converse he was wearing. They looked like they had been through hell. She watched him as he tried to get his locker open. It seemed to be jammed. After continuing to wiggle the latch, it came off and he stared down at it with wide eyes. Betty wanted to laugh, but she bit her tongue. She walked over and before she could tap on his shoulder, he whipped around to face her. 

"Hi." She said, with a warm smile. Recognition crossed his face, and Betty's stomach churned. He swiped his hood off his head and looked down at the latch he had just broken off the locker. 

"Uhhh..." 

"These lockers are really old, it happens all the time. Just ask for a new one at the office when you have a chance." Betty said, laughing a little. Peter just put the latch back where it had been before and nodded. 

"Ok." He said. He stared at her for a few seconds, as if he didn't know what she wanted from him. Then she remembered why she was there. 

"Oh. Yeah, I'm supposed to give you a tour. Class doesn't start for another twenty minutes. I'm Betty." Betty said. Peter's expression never changed. He only nodded. 

"Ok." He said. His voice was boyish, although Betty really hadn't heard him say anything besides one word. "Peter." He said after a few seconds of silence. 

"Alright then." Betty said, turning around and starting to walk. She said all the things she said on all her other tours, but he didn't say a word. Sometimes Betty had to look at him to see if he was still there. He was just... Silent. So Betty eventually tried to get him to talk. "How are things over at Archie's house anyway?" She asked. He looked at her and then looked back straight ahead, where they were walking. He didn't say anything for a few seconds. 

"They're fine." He said. Betty rolled her eyes subconsciously. 

"That's good. Is Archie being good? I've known him since birth, and he's a good guy. I hope you two are getting along well." Betty said, looking at Peter. He looked like he was thinking hard. 

"Sure." He finally said. That irritated Betty, and she was about to ask another question when she heard chatter behind her. 

"Shut up, Jughead. Why are you always like that? Do you think it's funny?" Veronica was saying, clearly upset. Betty turned around to see Archie, Veronica, and Jughead walking towards Betty. Jughead was smiling but Veronica looked pissed off. She looked at Betty. "Tell your boyfriend to stop being such a dick." She snapped. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"Can you be nice? Oh yeah! Guys this is-" Betty turned back around and stopped talking. Peter was gone. "Peter." She finished quietly. 

"Oh hey, Peter! Really great to meet you, I'm Jughead." Jughead shook the air, and then turned to Betty, wrapping his arm around an imaginary guy. "Man, I love this guy. He's hilarious." He said sarcastically. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"Well, he _was_ there. I don't know where he went." Betty let out a sigh. She then looked at Archie who looked distracted. "Did you say something stupid last night?" 

"What? No. Everything was fine until he started acting weird." Archie said. Betty felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. 

"Weird?" 

"Yeah, it was all fine and then like right before we went to bed he was all... I don't know the word for it. Like he had seen a ghost." Archie shrugged. Betty closed her eyes. She was the ghost. 

"Whatever, Class starts in five minutes." Veronica said, smiling in a fake way. "I won't forget this Jughead." She said before walking away. Betty didn't know what Jughead said, but she really didn't care. Betty looked in the direction Peter had disappeared to, and frowned. 

"Archie, did you guys talk about anything?" Betty asked him. 

"Not really. I asked him if he plays football at one point. He doesn't. Disappointing." Archie shook his head over dramatically and Betty punched his shoulder. 

"Remember what I said." Betty said, before walking away. She heard Jughead laugh at Archie, and Archie tell him to shut up.

Betty's first period was English, and it went by pretty quickly. But she was surprised when she found that Peter was in her second period. It was physics. Betty smiled at him, but he only acknowledged her. It was starting to make her mad. But she saw her chance, and she took it. During the middle of the class, the teacher announced that there would be a project due by the end of the next week, and Betty looked at Peter. It looked like he was thinking really hard about something. When the teacher was done talking, Betty sat next to Peter, who just calmly looked at her. 

"Wanna be my partner?" She asked with a smile. Peter was quiet for a few seconds before nodding. 

"I guess." He said. Betty stared at him and then couldn't resist anymore. 

"Is this about last night?" She suddenly asked. It looked like he didn't know what she was talking about, and then he realized, and he raised his eyebrows. 

"Wait, what?" He said quickly. "I- uh, no." He was getting fidgety all of a sudden. 

"Because I'm really sorry I didn't mean to freak you out. I wasn't looking at you. Or at least I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine." He said quickly. "I wasn't even thinking about that." Betty watched as he bounced his knee up and down like he couldn't wait to leave. "I can just do the project, you don't have to do anything." He said after a minute. 

"What?" Betty asked incredulously. Peter was about to say something when she talked before him. "No. I'm doing this too." She sounded defensive. 

"You didn't have to be my partner just because you pity me." Peter said, in a tone, she hadn't heard from him before. It was a cold tone. "Or for whatever... Other reason you have." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"It just means... Maybe next time don't watch people while they change." Peter closed his eyes as soon as it came out. "Okay, I didn't mean that-" 

"For the record, I have a boyfriend. So whatever you think you saw last night, you didn't. Am I clear?" He had royally pissed her off at that point. All she tried to do was be nice and he had continuously given him the cold shoulder. 

"Crystal." Peter said flatly. He looked at her, and suddenly his eyes looked kind. "Seriously, I didn't mean to offend you..." He started to say. 

"Whatever." Betty said, clipping the word. They didn't talk for much of the rest of the class. Peter went back to being quiet, and Betty was fine with that. Once the class period was over, Peter was about to say something to Betty, but instead of listening, she just walked away and left the classroom. She felt a bit guilty, it was the first time he was even going to talk without being asked something, but he really got on her nerves. So she ignored the guilt she felt. She didn't see him again until lunch. Her and Jughead were the first ones at their table, and Betty was leaning over to see his laptop screen. He was asking her about what she thought about the new design of the school paper. Suddenly, she heard Veronica's obnoxious voice. 

"Do you even know what that is? Wait, don't answer that." She said quickly. Betty looked up to see Veronica, Peter, and Archie walking over to their table. Peter was in the middle of Veronica and Archie, and Veronica wouldn't stop talking. Betty noticed Peter's knuckles turning white as he gripped his backpack strap. She couldn't help but smile. Veronica was obviously annoying him, but he showed no sign of it on his face. Despite his white knuckles, he had a calm and somber look on his face. They sat down at the table, and Jughead couldn't take it anymore. 

"Veronica, would you shut the hell up?" He snapped. He shook his head and looked down at his laptop screen. She stopped talking, and Betty raised her eyebrows. 

"Excuse you?" She yelled. Archie let out a sigh. 

"Now you've done it." He said. 

"You have been in a terrible mood all day, what is your problem, Jones?" Veronica asked. Jughead ignored her, typing on his keyboard. It was as if he hadn't even heard her. Betty looked at Peter, who was frowning down at his phone. She let out a sigh and squeezed Jughead's shoulder soothingly. Veronica wasn't wrong. He was acting pissy all day. Jughead looked at Betty and smiled at her, making her feel better. Suddenly the phone in Peter's hand began to ring, making everyone look at him. He looked at the group of friends and blinked once before standing up. 

"Uh, I'll be back." He said. He answered the phone and began walking away. 

"Ned, I told you not to call me until I got home." Peter said into the phone. He sounded exasperated. That was the last thing Betty heard before he disappeared into the hallway. Betty looked at Archie. 

"Do we know who Ned is?" Betty asked with a sarcastic smile. Archie rolled his eyes. 

"Some dude from Queens. Goes to Peter's old high school." Archie shrugged like he couldn't care less, but Peter obviously gave Archie this information. 

"Okay, so how was last night?" Veronica asked, elbowing Archie. Jughead closed his laptop and looked at Archie. 

"It was fine. May is actually pretty cool." Archie said. 

"May?" Jughead asked. 

"Peter's aunt." Archie clarified. Betty listened to the conversation silently. They eventually changed the conversation topic and talked about something Betty wasn't paying attention to. Two minutes later, Peter came back and sat down. He shoved his phone into his pocket and then turned back towards the table, not looking at everyone. 

"Oh yeah." Archie said suddenly and looked at Peter. "I have football practice after school so I can't drive you home. Can you get a ride?" Peter looked at Archie as if he was the biggest idiot in the world. 

"I don't know anybody. Who's going to give me a ride?" He asked incredulously. Jughead snorted and looked away, trying not to laugh. Betty would have offered to drive him home, but she had cheer practice along with Veronica. 

"Jug, why don't you take him home?" Betty asked. Peter looked at Jughead blankly. They hadn't exchanged one word to each other before. 

"Can't. I have to go to the Whyte Wyrm straight after school." He said. Betty stared at him. 

"Why would you-" 

"You'll just have to stay at school with me. Unless you want to walk back to the house." Archie said to Peter. Peter glared at Archie, but quickly fixed his expression. 

"I'll walk." He said. 

"You don't drive?" Veronica asked, cutting in. 

"I have my license. I don't have a car." 

"Why don't you just buy one?" Veronica said as if it was obvious. Betty frowned at her friend. Peter ignored her, and just got up. 

"I'll be in the library." He mumbled before walking out of the cafeteria. Betty glared at Veronica. 

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Jughead said. Veronica put her hands up. 

"Sorry, I forgot he was from Queens for a second. My bad." She said sarcastically. 

"Shut up, Veronica. It's not funny, or cool." Betty snapped. Veronica stared at her friend as if she couldn't believe Betty was serious. "Could you guys be any less rude?" She said, looking at both Veronica and Archie. 

"What did I do?" Archie asked defensively. 

"Nothing, Archie. That's your problem." Betty said, rolling her eyes. Jughead said nothing, he just stared at the table. "Whatever. Just forget it." Betty mumbled. Lunch ended five minutes later, and the rest of the day was a blur. Betty was sure Peter hated their whole friend group. She felt guilty, and mostly because Veronica was so straightforward that it was painful. They didn't seem like the type of people he would hang out with in the first place. After school, Betty joined the rest of the cheer team in the girls' locker room to change into their cheer uniforms. It was the first practice of the school year, and Betty knew Cheryl was bound to make them work extra hard. They had begun stretching on the track while the football players practiced on the field. 

"What did Jughead mean?" Veronica asked Betty as they stretched. Betty looked at Veronica, confused. "When he said he was going to the Whyte Wyrm? He hasn't gone there in a long time." 

"Yeah, I know." Betty said. "I don't know what that was about. I didn't get a chance to ask." Betty looked away and concentrated on her stretching. It was silent for a few seconds, besides the low chatter of the other girls. "V, last night was... Humiliating. And not just for me." Betty finally said, looking at her friend. Veronica frowned. 

"What happened?" She asked. Betty hesitated. 

"Well, I had just really gotten home from Pops... And I look out my window, and Peter's there. Except..." Betty stared at Veronica, who raised her eyebrows. "I don't know, when I say it out loud, it doesn't sound that bad. I just saw him without his shirt on, is all. And I felt really weird about it." Veronica then smiled. 

"Well, give me details. What was it like?" She asked. Betty stared at Veronica, incredulously. 

"Veronica." She said warningly. Veronica only laughed. 

"I'm joking. Unless..." She laughed at her own words, and Betty rolled her eyes. 

"Just please don't tell Jughead. You know how he gets. Don't even tell Archie. I don't think he knows and I would like it to stay that way." Betty warned. Veronica nodded. 

"Yeah, yeah. I won't tell anyone." She said with the wave of her hand. Betty was satisfied with that. The rest of the practice just blended together. By the time it was over, the sun was setting. Betty said her goodbyes to Veronica, and Archie, and started heading towards the student parking lot. Her body was feeling a little sore, but she knew it would be even worse the next day. Her favorite part of practice was when it was over, and it was getting dark. When she was alone, and walking to the parking lot, she felt like the only person left on the planet. It was silent, and it gave her a different feeling. A good one. That feeling quickly went away when she found that her car wasn't in the parking lot. 

Betty took a double-take, and even looked at every inch of the parking lot, but her car wasn't there. She began panicking but quickly tried to calm herself down. This had never happened before. Especially in such a public place. But by that time there was barely anyone at the school, so it made sense. 

"What the hell?" She asked nobody in particular. Her car was really gone. Betty let out a sigh. She would have to walk home. By that time, the sun was almost completely gone and the sky was dark. Illuminating the parking lot was a single street lamp. She shook her head and left the parking lot, walking towards her house. It was weird. She felt like she was being watched. Or followed. But every time she looked behind her, there was nobody there. She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked, feeling a chill. Although, it was still technically summer, and it was a warm night. 

Suddenly Betty heard footsteps behind her, and she whipped around. There was nobody behind her. She heard the breaking of tree branches and looked up. She thought she saw something bright red in the trees, but she couldn't be sure. Whatever it was, was gone by the time she fully looked up into the trees. 

"Hey." She heard from behind her. Betty jumped and quickly turned around, ready to scream. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute. She was breathing heavier. She relaxed when she saw who it was. It was Peter. 

"Oh my god." She breathed out. "You scared me." His hair was a mess of curls, and he had his backpack slung over his shoulder. He looked tired, and like he had just got done with a workout. 

"Sorry." He mumbled. Betty frowned at his backpack. He surely had to have gotten home a lot earlier. 

"Why do you have your backpack?" She asked, then froze. "What are you even doing here?" Betty had her own backpack on her shoulders. Peter looked at his backpack as if he didn't even know he was carrying it. 

"Oh. I went to the public library. I didn't feel like going back to that house just yet." He said, looking back at Betty. _That house._ She noticed how he didn't say home. Betty suddenly felt sympathy for him. And his situation. Then he frowned and looked around. It was dark out by then. 

"Where's your car?" He asked. Betty laughed and looked down at the floor. 

"It was stolen." She said. 

"It was _stolen_?" He asked as if that was ridiculous. She looked at his face. He genuinely looked mad. This surprised Betty. 

"Uh, yeah. It wasn't there when I got out of practice." She bit her lip while he ran a hand through his hair. It looked like he was deep in thought. "Wanna walk home together?" She asked, and he looked at her. "Since we're neighbors now." She smiled at him. 

"Sure." He said, with a small nod. They both began walking, and it was silent for most of it. It wasn't really an awkward silence, though. It was a calm one. It felt nice. They reached Archie's house first, and Peter nodded at Betty. "Goodnight, Betty." He said, and she stopped walking. "Sorry about your car." He added. Betty nodded. 

"Thanks. Goodnight, Peter." She said. Peter turned away and walked up the steps to the house. Betty continued to walk to her own house. When she got inside, the first person she told about her missing car, was Charles. 

"Wait, _what?_ " He said, turning to her after she told him. She had no idea where her parents were, but she was glad they weren't there. 

"Please don't tell mom and dad." She said. Charles rolled his eyes. "This is my way of filing a police report." 

"Not how it works... But whatever." He mumbled. "What am I supposed to say if they ask where your car is. What are _you_ supposed to say? Why would they even get mad, it's not your fault." 

"Dad might not. But you know how mom is. Everything is my fault. Just tell them I left it at the school and got a ride back with Archie." 

"It could take weeks to find the car. If we even find it." 

"If it's still missing by next week, I'll tell them myself. Alright?" Betty looked at her older brother, hoping he would agree. He let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. 

"Mhm. Sure." He said. Betty smiled and gave him a quick hug. 

"Thanks, Charles. I'm going to bed." Betty walked away and went up the stairs before he could say anything else.

Betty took a shower, and then started getting ready for bed. She ran through everything that happened throughout the day. She wondered if Peter hated her. Or hated Veronica. Or both of them together. He had gotten on her nerves today, but she wasn't so mad at him anymore. Not as much as she was in Physics class. Suddenly, Betty had a strong urge to look out her window. She did not want a repeat of the night before, but she wondered. After moments of hesitation, she slowly walked over to the window. She let out a breath. The curtains were tightly drawn shut. For the first day, it could have been a lot worse, she thought. Besides the fact her car had been stolen. Betty hadn't really registered how angry she was about that. She closed her own curtains, before turning the lights out, and going to bed. She thought about the days and months to come before her. She thought it was going to be a long senior year. 


	2. The Car

It had been two days since Betty's car had been stolen, and Charles said there was no sign of it yet. She was hoping she would get it back soon because she had been catching rides with Archie and Peter to school. It wasn't like it was a bad thing. She just missed driving to school on her own. Usually, she would sit in the back seat, and talk to Archie. Peter would sometimes comment, or respond if Archie said something to him, but mostly he just tuned them both out with his earbuds in. It was obvious to Betty he still hadn't warmed up to Riverdale. Or the people in it. Betty had been focused on The Blue and Gold the past two days. Jughead helped her, but somehow, it felt like he wasn't really there. He had been distant lately. Betty had yet to ask him what was going on. 

It was Thursday morning when Betty had gotten up early to shower and then get ready for school. The night before, she had overheard some yelling. She was taking the garbage out when she heard it was May yelling. She was yelling at Peter. Betty didn't really get the details. She didn't want to be nosy. But Peter didn't seem like the type of person to get into trouble, so she wondered what May was yelling at him about. She also wondered how that worked. If Archie and Fred just kind of went away while that sort of thing happened, or if it was awkward.

Archie didn't talk about his experience of three days living with Peter Parker. Archie was still cold about the whole situation. Betty gave it three more weeks before he accepted the fact that for the next ten months, this was how his living situation was going to be. Betty could sympathize with Archie. Having another guy living in his bedroom, in his house. But she could also sympathize with Peter, having to move away from the city. Betty wasn't really concerned with her red-haired friend anyway. She was stressing over the fact her car was stolen and she may never see it again. She came down the stairs to see Polly, Alice, Hal, and Charles all eating breakfast at the dining table. Alice smiled at her youngest child. 

"Betty. Come eat before school." Alice said. Betty came and sat down in the only available chair. It was a little strange, having both her siblings in the same room, at the same time. She hadn't seen Polly in days. Betty looked at Polly, who had a new double piercing, right at the arch of her eyebrow. She sat slumped, leaned back in her chair, playing with her food using her fork. She looked like she always did. Miserable, and pissed. Betty then looked to her brother, who shook his head at her. 

"Is this an intervention for Polly, or something?" Betty asked, earning a glare from her sister. She looked at her father, who pressed his lips together but said nothing. Her mother, like always, was unreadable. 

"No, Betty." Alice simply said. "I just thought it was nice for the family to be together for once. By the way, I've noticed you've been getting rides with Archie and Patrick. Where's your car?" Betty frowned at the unfamiliar name and then relaxed. 

"His name is Peter. And my car's in the shop, mom." Betty said simply, taking a look at Charles, who didn't look at her. He was wearing his uniform, the patch on his left arm reading _Riverdale Police Department_. 

"Your car is in the shop?" Alice asked with a raised eyebrow. "Betty, your father and yourself could fix cars just fine. What even happened?" 

"I know, but honestly I don't have the time, with cheer and school. I also didn't want to leave it to dad. He has work. And the engine was blown. I'm paying for it, so don't worry." Betty shrugged. Nobody said anything for a minute. 

"I dislike our new neighbors. You should have heard that woman last night. She's got quite a mouth on her, saying all those disgusting words. That's how you tell they're from the worse part of the city." Alice said, her voice full of disgust. Betty mentally rolled her eyes. 

"You were listening?" Polly asked, staring at their mother with distaste. Alice let out a sigh. 

"It's hard not to listen when she's yelling like that." She said simply. Polly rolled her eyes. 

"Jesus, Alice what the hell is wrong with you?" Polly said. Alice snapped her head towards her. 

"You don't call me by my first name or talk to me like that! Hal?" Alice looked at her husband, but he didn't seem to be paying attention. Right when he was about to say something, there was honking from outside. 

"That's Archie." Betty said, quickly standing up and grabbing her backpack. 

"I'll walk you out." Charles said. "I have to go, anyway." Betty nodded and he followed her out the door. Betty heard him close the door behind them once they were outside, and she looked at Archie's car, parked on the curb in front of her house. Peter was in the passenger's seat and he had headphones on. He turned and looked at her. Betty looked away and towards her brother, who was standing in front of her now. 

"What is going to happen if we find your car and it's totaled? Wow, that shop sure did a good job, Betty! You should recommend it." He said the last part sarcastically, and Betty rolled her eyes. 

"Charles, please. If it's totaled, I will admit to lying and be grounded for months. Okay? There's nothing else I could do. But I am telling you right now if I told Alice Cooper my car was stolen, she would have found a way to blame it on me. You know that better than anyone." Betty could feel eyes on her, but she ignored it and focused on Charles. Charles only nodded and let out a sigh. 

"Okay. Fine. I have to go to work. Have a good day at school." He said. Betty nodded and turned, walking to Archie's car. She got in the back and crossed her arms over her chest. 

"You okay?" Archie asked, before starting to drive. 

"No. Polly's back, my car is still missing and I just... I can't handle my asshole for a sister right now. I already know she's going to do something to impact _my_ life and I'm going to have to deal with it, Archie." Betty said. "Not to mention she's probably a ghoulie," Betty muttered the last part. Suddenly Peter took his headphones off and turned his head. 

"What's a ghoulie?" He asked, surprising Betty. She didn't understand how he even heard that. 

"Uh, it's a gang member. The Ghoulies is a gang." Betty said. Peter didn't say anything to that, but she could imagine the look on his face. He probably wasn't expecting that. 

"Betts, it's all going to be fine." Archie eventually said. Peter had his headphones back on by then. 

"Whatever." Betty mumbled. When they got to school, Peter got out of the car and walked towards the building, but Betty pulled Archie back and made him walk slowly with her until Peter was out of earshot. 

"What?" Archie asked. 

"What happened last night? Even my mom was upset about all the yelling." Betty said. Archie nodded. 

"Yeah, May wasn't happy with Peter. It was kind of hard to understand some of what she said. It was like she was talking in code or something." Archie said. Betty frowned. 

"What?" 

"Well, she was mad at him because he came home late, really late, and he had all these cuts and bruises on his face. But when she was yelling at him, it was like there was some stuff she wanted to say, but instead, she tried to say them using code words, if that makes sense. I don't know, it's whatever. He got jumped last night or something." Archie shrugged. Betty didn't know what Archie was talking about at all, but she brushed it off. She hadn't gotten a clear look at Peter's face that day, so she didn't see the cuts and bruises Archie was talking about. Betty headed over to the Blue and Gold Room, where Kevin and Jughead were. Betty smiled when she saw them. 

"Hey, guys." She said, walking in the classroom. She walked over to Jughead and he gave her a quick kiss. 

"Betty, you're just in time. We are prepping for the game in two weeks. The first game of the season." Kevin said. 

"Oh, really?" Betty said. She rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes. "Ummm..." 

"Any news on the car?" Jughead asked. She opened her eyes and looked at him. 

"Don't ask me, about the car." She said, clearly irritated. Jughead smiled. 

"Sorry." He said. Betty walked over to the planner board and looked at it. 

"Let's just start with the headlines for the week." She said. With the rest of the time they had, they went over their plan for the next few weeks and then said their goodbyes when the first bell rang. In Physics, Betty and Peter had to get started on their project, but Peter was persistent in doing the project himself. 

"I'm not going to let you do the project by yourself. Now, let's just figure out what we should do it on." Betty said. Peter let out a sigh. 

"I could have it done in time by myself. I would do the project on the Mpemba effect, it's a phenomenon where it's temperature-dependent. There are doubts about the theoretical basis, but if you think about the parameters required to produce the effect, then... Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked. Betty had been staring at him, clueless. 

"I didn't understand a word you just said." She said flatly. 

"But it's simple-" He cut himself off. "Sorry, I'll explain it to you-" 

"What school did you come from?" Betty asked. 

"What?" 

"What school did you come from?" She repeated. Peter hesitated. 

"Midtown. Midtown High School." He said. Betty scoffed. 

"You come from a science school." She said. 

"It's not really... A science school. But sure." He said with a smile. Betty let out a sigh. 

"You don't belong here, Peter. You're too smart." Betty said with a smile. "But I'm doing the project with you." 

"You're stubborn." Peter said, his voice full of deadpan. But he was slightly smiling. 

"Explain to me the mem whatever theory thing." Betty said, making Peter start laughing. 

"The Mpemba effect." He corrected. Betty glared at him. "Okay, fine," Peter said. The rest of the class, they went over their project and Peter did most of the explaining on how they should do it. Physics wasn't Betty's strong suit. She did notice his face. He had a cut on his eyebrow and a bruise on his cheekbone. There was also another cut on the side of his neck but Betty never said anything about it. It was obvious he saw her looking, though. It was Veronica, who pointed it out, at lunch. 

"Oh my god, what the hell happened to you?" She said when he walked over to the table. He looked at her, and sat down, before answering. 

"I uh, got jumped." He said. "Yeah." Jughead frowned, and Veronica raised an eyebrow. 

"You got jumped? Did they take anything?" 

"No." He said. Jughead looked at him incredulously. 

"You got jumped, and they didn't take anything?" He asked, his voice sounding unbelieving. Peter looked straight at him. 

"I didn't have anything they could take." He said calmly. Jughead looked Peter up and down. 

"Hm." He said. Suddenly there was the loud sound of heels clicking echoing through the cafeteria and the sweet, loud voice of Cheryl Blossom. Betty looked up to see her and Toni Topaz headed straight for their table. When they got there, Cheryl sat next to Veronica, and Toni next to Jughead. 

"Hello, my dearest friends!" Cheryl announced. Toni wrapped an arm around Jughead's shoulders and stole a fry from his plate, earning a glare from him. Betty laughed at that. 

"What do you want, Cheryl?" Archie asked. Cheryl scoffed. 

"Rude, Andrews. I'm here to tell you about my party. Two weeks from tomorrow." Cheryl clapped her hands together. 

"You're having your party on the night of the football game?" Veronica asked. Cheryl nodded. 

"Yes, and you're all invited! I will remind you again in a week, being the lovely person I am." 

"Oh hey, Peter you should go-" Veronica said, freezing when she realized Peter wasn't there anymore. "Where did he go?" Betty frowned. Nobody saw him leave. He must have snuck away when they were all concentrated on Cheryl. 

"Who's Peter? Could it be that new stepbrother of Archie's?" Cheryl asked. Archie practically gagged. 

"Not my stepbrother." He said. Betty leaned her head on Jughead's shoulder lazily, for the rest of lunch. 

After school, Betty caught herself walking to the parking lot. When she realized what she was doing, she turned back towards the direction she would go to get to her house and started walking. She was so used to going to her car every day. Unfortunately, none of her friends could drive her home after school. What surprised her most was when she felt a presence beside her and turned to see Peter. She raised her eyebrows and almost jumped. 

"You have got to stop doing that." Betty said, making him smile. He had his hands in his pockets and still carried his backpack on his shoulders. Betty knew Archie had to go to tutoring after school, so that explained what Peter was doing. They walked in silence for a minute. "Do you think you'll get a car soon?" Betty asked. Peter looked at her and then looked back down at the sidewalk. 

"Uh, I don't know. My aunt couldn't afford one before, and if Fred bought me one I think she would force him to return it." Peter said, rubbing the back of his neck. Betty nodded. 

"Yeah." She said softly. "Do you miss your old school?" She asked, looking at him. He didn't respond at first. 

"Yeah." He finally said. "I miss my best friend." Betty nodded and then smiled. 

"Is there a girl waiting for you in Queens?" She asked. The question seemed to throw Peter off guard for a second, but he recovered. For a minute, Betty thought he wasn't going to answer. 

"We broke up before I moved." He eventually said. Betty felt her gut twist. She just brought up something he probably didn't want to this about. 

"I'm sorry." 

"It's fine." He said softly. Betty thought he was going to say more, but he didn't. He hadn't quite opened up to her yet. 

"How was your first week of school?" 

"You sound like May." Peter said, and then he looked like he regretted saying it. Betty couldn't help but smile, though. 

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment because I've heard she's pretty great." Betty said. That seemed to make Peter smile. 

"Yeah, she is." He said quietly. "I'm sorry about your car." 

"It's alright." Then Betty paused. "Actually, it's not. I'm really pissed off about it." 

"I'm sure you'll find it." He said, then stopped walking. Betty turned back and looked at him. 

"I, uh, just remembered. I have to go to the library. For my English class. I have to get a book." He said. 

"Want me to go with you?" 

"No." He said, a little too quickly. Betty raised her eyebrows. Peter relaxed his shoulders and smiled. "No, it's okay. I'll see you later Betty." He walked past her and started walking away. 

"Peter?" She called. He turned back around and looked at her. 

"Yeah?" 

"The library is that way." She pointed over her shoulder. Peter pressed his lips together and nodded. 

"Yeah, I knew that." He said, walking past her again. 

"Okay." Betty said, laughing a little. She shook her head and continued walking in the direction of her house. Betty was surprised to see Charles and Polly, outside when she got home. They were arguing. When they saw Betty, approaching the driveway, they both grew quiet. 

"What's going on, guys?" She asked. Nobody answered her. "Are you two being serious?" 

"Officer Cooper over here is trying to accuse me of crimes I didn't commit. Leave me alone, jackass!" Polly snapped. She was wearing black, heavy eye makeup, and her lips were painted a dark red. 

"I just asked you if you knew where Betty's car was, I didn't accuse you of anything." Charles said, trying to keep his calm. 

"That's code for did I steal her car because you and everyone else think I'm a gang member." Polly shot back. 

"You have gotten away with so much shit because of me, so you should show a little respect, okay?" 

"Oh my god, thank you so much for everything you have done for me, you're the best big brother ever!" Polly said in a whiny little girl's voice. "Is that what you wanna hear?" Betty stood there, watching them argue. She hated it when this happened. Polly arguing with her parents was a thing she had dealt with most of her life. But when Charles and Polly argued, it was different. 

"I am so sick of your shit, do you know that?" Charles snapped, raising his voice. "I am so sick of covering for you every day- You know, why don't you get a job? And your own fucking place how does that sound?" 

"Guys can you just stop?" Betty asked, in a low voice. They both ignored her. 

"Oh, yeah sorry. Because I'm the loser here. You are twenty-five. Stop hanging out with your family every single day and go get a girlfriend, Charles. Most people your age get married! But instead, you would rather spend your free time with Nancy Drew over here!" Polly yelled. 

"Guys, can you stop?" Betty asked again, raising her voice. They both looked at her this time. 

"Why are you still here?" Polly asked coldly. Betty stared at her older sister, clenching her jaw shut. "You know what, Betty? You are lucky. You have the respect of both of our parents, but me and Charles? We never had that."

"Polly, that's enough." Charles said, putting his hand on her shoulder. She only shoved him back and turned back to Betty.

"What are you going to do when you graduate? Go to college and marry Jughead. That's what you're going to do. Perfect little Betty. So stop trying to bud into this argument. You don't compare. You don't get it. Why don't you go fuck off and practice your cheer routine. Got it?" Polly said. Then she smirked and turned away from her. Betty looked at Charles, who had his eyes closed and was pinching the bridge of his nose. Betty nodded and then walked up the driveway. 

She walked into the garage and grabbed her old bike. Behind her, Polly and Charles had thought she had gone inside. They both looked at her when she walked her bike down the driveway, and to the curb. She looked at her two siblings with a cold glare. 

"Betty, what are you doing?" Charles asked. She ignored him as she got on the bike. "Where are you going?" She still ignored him, and without another word, she pushed herself and began pedaling down the street. "Betty!" She heard her brother call from behind her. But she continued to pedal her bike. She pedaled for a long time, and eventually, she found herself at Sweetwater River. She didn't remember wanting to go there or having a plan to go there, but that was where she ended up. She put her kickstand up for her bike and sat down by the shore. 

Betty stared at the slow-moving water, thinking about Polly's words. She wasn't hurt by the words, or mad about it. She was used to the outbursts and the stabs. She just didn't want to be in the same house with Polly at the moment. She needed a break. Sweetwater River was a calming place, despite the history there. Sophomore year, when Jason Blossom's body was found in the river. And then just a few short months later, Betty and her friends had to save Cheryl from attempting to kill herself there. The last few years were rough. 

Betty sometimes had thoughts. Thoughts that she wished she wouldn't have. Like maybe one day Polly would leave, and Betty wouldn't have to see her again. She mentally kicked herself whenever she had thoughts like that. But maybe if Polly wasn't in the picture, she wouldn't stress as much as she did. Betty let out a sigh and reached a hand out to touch the water. 

It was cold, but refreshing against her skin. Betty closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the water moving, slowly but surely. She listened to the chirps of the birds and the sounds in the trees. When she opened her eyes again, the sky seemed less bright than before. By that time the sun was just beginning to set, and it was going to get dark soon. 

When she took her phone and looked at it, she realized she had been at the river for two hours and had a dozen messages. Betty widened her eyes at that. She thought, there was no way she had been there for two hours. Betty stood up and then grabbed her bike, putting up the kickstand and then getting on. She didn't rush to get home, not wanting to face either Polly or Charles. 

Betty was on her street, fifteen minutes later. She rolled up to her house and froze in her place. Her eyes widened. There, in the driveway, was her car. She got off her bike and left it on the curb where it was. She slowly walked up to the car and stared at it. It looked like it hadn't been touched. She walked around the car, looking for any damages there may have been, but found none. 

"You found your car." She heard a voice call. She looked up to see Peter, his backpack on his shoulders, facing her. He was on the steps of the Andrews' house. He must have just got home from the library. He nodded at her car. Betty frowned and looked down at it. 

"Yeah..." She said slowly. Peter only nodded and then walked up the stairs, opening the door and walking in. She heard the door shut softly behind him. Betty saw something white and slick in the corner of her eye and turned toward the back wheel of the car. She walked over and knelt down. There was webbing, all over the back of the wheel. Betty touched it with her hand and stared at it. "Spider webs?" She asked in a quiet voice. But it was so much stronger than spider webs. And more sticky. Betty brushed her hand on her pants and stood up. 

When Betty walked in the house, it was quiet, and she assumed Charles wasn't there, and the rest of her family must have been in their bedrooms. Betty just went up the stairs and straight to her bedroom. Once her door was shut, she got her phone out and called Charles. He answered on the third ring. 

"Oh, thank god-"

"Did you find my car?" She asked. "And bring it to the house?" There was silence on the other end for a few seconds. 

"No. Wait, your car is back? It's at the house?" He asked. Betty stared at the floor in confusion. 

"That wasn't you?" She asked. 

"No. Is it beat up?" Charles asked. 

"No, it's in perfectly good shape. Who brought my car back, Charles?" 

"It wasn't me. Or anyone at the station. Someone would have called you." Charles said. Betty was silent, full of questions. 

"Okay, I'll talk to you later." Betty said, before hanging up. She paced around her room, trying to think. Why would someone just, bring her car back and not say anything to her. Betty had to look out her window, just to see if her car was truly back, or if she had just imagined it, despite even Peter saying something. She looked out her window, and her car was still there. Parked in her driveway. She let out a sigh of slight relief and sat down on her bed. She just couldn't shake a weird feeling she had. _Who brought back the car?_


	3. The Game

It had been a week since Betty's car miraculously appeared in her driveway. It was Friday night, and Betty had been sitting on the couch with Charles and her father. Alice was working late. They were all watching a movie and Hal had told Charles to come over. Ever since the argument, Charles hadn't been so keen on coming over without asking for permission. Betty had her legs on Charles's lap, laying down with her head turned towards the TV. 

"Betty, will you take out the trash?" Hal asked. Betty frowned at her father. 

"Are you serious? Charles, you do it?" Betty said. Charles sighed and rubbed his back over dramatically. 

"Man, I really slaved away today at work-" He stopped talking when Betty threw a pillow at him, and he began laughing. 

"Betty." Hal said. "The trash." Betty rolled her eyes and got up off the couch, walking into the kitchen. She grabbed the trash bag and put a jacket on, on her way out. Outside, she opened the trash can, and stuffed the trash bag in, making a face as she did. She froze when she saw Peter walking down the sidewalk, his backpack slung on one shoulder. He was in front of Betty's house by then, and the sun was still setting, almost completely gone. As if he knew she was looking at him, he stopped walking and looked at her. Betty smiled and walked toward him. 

"Hey." She said with a smile. Peter managed to smile back. 

"Uh, hi." 

"And where do you think you're going at such a time?" Betty said, with a small laugh. 

"Veronica is at the house..." Peter said slowly. "And Archie-"

"You don't have to finish that sentence." Betty said, laughing harder. Peter rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. 

"I just thought I would leave for a little... Until they're done." Peter cringed at his own words. Betty continued to laugh. 

"What's in the bag?" She asked. He looked at his backpack and then back at her. 

"Some homework. I thought maybe I would go to the library and do some." He explained. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"You're always doing homework. Can I come with you? I'll show you all the cool places in Riverdale. Which, in truth there's none. But I can try." Betty smiled. Peter stared at her with his mouth open, not saying anything for a few seconds. He glanced at his bag and then back at her. 

"I should really-"

"No homework, Peter." Betty said, cutting him off. He pressed his lips together. 

"Alright." He finally said. Betty nodded and began walking. He walked beside her and kept one hand on his backpack strap. 

"Peter?" Betty said. Peter looked at her, and then looked at the sidewalk. 

"Yeah." 

"Did you see who left my car in the driveway last Thursday?" Betty asked. Peter shook his head. 

"No. I thought you found it? Or the police found it?" Peter asked. Betty noticed how he avoided looking at her. Betty ignored a strange feeling she had in her gut. 

"No. It was just... There when I got home." Betty said with a shrug. "Are you hungry?" Peter was thrown off guard by the question and sudden change in conversation. 

"I guess." He mumbled. "Why?" Betty ignored his questions but continued to walk. He just followed her. Ten minutes later, they were sitting in a booth at Pops. Peter kept looking around the diner, and Betty thought it was strange. Suddenly she couldn't hold back. 

"What, you've never been to a restaurant like this before?" She asked. Peter looked at her and then shrugged. 

"No, not really. It looks outdated." 

"There's a lot of places like that." 

"Not in Queens." Peter said. Betty thought about that. She hadn't grown up in any part of the city. And she had only been to the city once, and it was when she was super young. Peter had always been there. 

"Is it better there than here?" She asked. Peter looked out the window in contemplation. 

"It's safer here. But I prefer it there." He answered. Betty nodded. Suddenly her phone went off, and she saw it was a message from Jughead. 

_Jughead Jones: What the hell?_

There was an attachment to his message. A video. 

"What?" Peter asked. Betty didn't answer him and watched the video. Betty's eyes widened. 

"Wow..." She mumbled. It was a video of Spider-Man. He had been crawling on top of a building somewhere in town, and someone from below was recording him. He suddenly shot a web and all of a sudden he was gone. 

"What is it?" Peter asked again. Betty handed her the phone, and Peter took it, watching the video. He frowned as he watched the video. 

"Are you kidding me?" He asked, sounding frustrated. Betty raised her eyebrows. 

"I know, it's insane." She said. Peter looked at her and then relaxed, handing the phone back. 

"Yeah. Weird." He mumbled. Suddenly Betty's phone rang, and Betty saw it was Jughead. She answered it. 

"Hey, Juggie." She said with a smile. Peter suddenly looked disinterested and looked out the window next to them. 

"Did you see that?" Jughead immediately said. 

"Yes, I saw. So Spider-Man's in Riverdale." Betty rolled her eyes at Jughead's boyish excitement. 

"Why are you talking like that?" Jughead asked incredulously. "This is huge! I mean this is just... This is amazing. It's great." Betty laughed. 

"Jughead, why are you so worked up over this?" Betty asked. 

"Because he's in a small town like Riverdale! When he could be anywhere else, why here? It's insane." Jughead said, his voice full of excitement. Peter looked at her, with a dull look. He must have heard Jughead through the phone. 

"Jughead, he's just another stupid man in a spandex suit. No big deal." Betty said. Peter frowned and raised his eyebrows as if Betty had just surprised him. Betty didn't notice the look on his face. "Nobody cares if he's in Riverdale. Certainly not me." 

"I care!" Jughead said defensively. 

"I should go, I'm with Peter." Betty said, about to hang up. 

"Wait." Jughead said. "You're with Peter?" 

"Yeah, we're just at Pops. Why?" Betty waited for Jughead to respond, but he was silent. 

"Ok." He finally said. "Bye." He hung up, and Betty rolled her eyes. Peter was still staring at her with an incredulous look. 

"What?" 

"Did you just call Spider-Man stupid?" He asked. Betty began laughing. 

"God, please don't tell me you're like Jughead. One of those obsessed guys who look up to him." Betty rolled her eyes. "Please." 

"What's wrong with him?" Peter asked. 

"You're kidding right?" Betty asked. Peter shook his head. "He's a murderer." Peter looked so offended by that. "He murdered that guy last year. There's video proof, I mean come on. Plus, everyone thinks he's like an Avenger or something, but he's a fake. He doesn't deserve to be one. Honestly, I think he's a dangerous person and for him to be in Riverdale isn't good news." Peter began laughing as if that was the most ridiculous thing in the world, and Betty stared at him. 

"He is not a murderer." Peter said, his voice dead serious. "That video was in self-defense. He would have died." Betty shrugged. 

"Well, that's your opinion." 

"It's not an opinion it's a fact!" Peter said, his voice rising. Betty scoffed. 

"God, you're just like Jughead." She muttered. "I don't like him. And I don't trust him. I think he should've gone to jail after what he did." Peter scoffed. 

"Of course you do." He muttered. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Betty asked. Peter looked at her and shook his head. 

"It just means, coming from someone like you, that's exactly what you'd want isn't it?" Peter seemed surprised by his own words. He squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them again. "I'm sorry." He whispered. Betty shook her head, looking away from him. 

"Whatever. I'm not hungry anymore." She got up and Peter scrambled to follow her. 

"Betty, wait. Where are you going?" 

"Home. Just leave me alone, Peter." 

"You shouldn't walk home alone." Peter said, following her out the door. 

"I said, leave me alone, Peter! That's exactly what someone like me would want." Betty snapped, continuing to walk away from him. Peter stopped walking and bit the inside of his cheek. He shook his head and walked away in a different direction. 

"Fine." She heard him mutter. Betty continued to walk home in the dark. She was sick of people telling her exactly who she was. And she was sick of being shut down, every time she tried to be nice to Peter. It was exhausting. She made a deal with herself that she would stop feeling sorry for him and trying to be his friend. He obviously didn't want that. 

By the time Betty had left the parking lot, the sun was completely down and it was dark. Betty wondered if it would have been a better idea to just take her car. But then she would have had to drive Peter home, or else she would have felt guilty for leaving him there. Either way, she didn't care. The wind blew a little harder and Betty felt a chill go down her back. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself as she walked. 

Suddenly, she heard a strange sound from behind her and she froze. She could hear her heart beating in her ears. She hesitated before slowly turning around. There was nobody there, but she was so sure she heard something. The only sound in the air at that moment was the sound of crickets. Betty took a look at her surroundings one more time. 

"Peter?" She called. There was nothing. Betty laughed at herself and shook her head. She turned back around and continued walking in the direction of her street. Suddenly she felt the wind on one side and heard the roar of an engine. She turned just as Reggie Mantle's Chevrolet sped past her. She heard Reggie holler, along with two other passengers she didn't recognize. She did take sight of the letterman jackets they were wearing. Football players. Betty rolled her eyes and continued to walk. 

By the time she got back to the house, Charles was in the garage with their father. He was leaning against the Porsche that Hal had been working on. Hal was looking under the hood, and Charles was talking. Betty couldn't really hear what he was saying. She walked up the driveway, and Charles looked at her. 

"Where have you been? You disappeared." 

"I was just at Pops." Betty said dismissively. 

"Why didn't you take your car?" 

"I felt like walking." 

"Well let us know next time, and you shouldn't walk alone at night." Charles said. Betty frowned at him. 

"Okay, dad." She said sarcastically. Hal stood up straight and looked at her. 

"He's right." Hal agreed. Betty let out a sigh. 

"I will let you know next time." She agreed, before walking into the house. Betty walked up the stairs and into her room quietly. She assumed her mother was back home and in bed by then. She briefly saw Alice's car outside. Betty shut the door and closed her eyes, letting out a breath. 

"Finally." She heard a voice say, making her jump and gasp, whirling around. Jughead was laying over the covers, on her bed, his knee propped up with a book in his hand. He frowned at her reaction, and closed the book, tossing it on her nightstand. Betty laughed and shook her head, trying to get her breathing in order. "Why so jumpy?" Jughead asked humorously. 

"Sorry." Betty said, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the edge. Jughead moved to sit next to her. She noticed his leather jacket folded over one of her chairs in the far corner of the room. "It's just been a weird night, I guess." 

"Yeah. Dinner with Peter Parker. Very strange." Jughead said, earning a glare from Betty. 

"It wasn't like that, and you know it." Betty assured him. "Besides, after tonight I don't believe we are compatible. Friendship wise." 

"Why's that?" 

"He's an ass." Betty said flatly, making Jughead laugh halfheartedly. 

"Peter's probably the nicest guy I've ever met. Which scares me a little." Jughead said. Betty didn't quite know what Jughead meant by the last part of his sentence, but she didn't ask. She wasn't so used to him being wary of the guys she hung out with. Jealousy wasn't Jughead's strong suit, and Betty wasn't really sure how to go about that. It was new. 

"Since when have you two said more than two sentences to each other?" Betty asked. 

"Since he came into the Blue and Gold yesterday after school looking for me." Jughead answered. Betty raised an eyebrow at that. 

"Really? What did he want?" 

"He just asked me questions about Archie?" 

"Why would he do that? What kind of questions?" 

"Calm down, Nancy Drew. He sounded like a guy trying to understand his new roommate a little better. Nothing more." Jughead assured her. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"He gives me a weird feeling." 

"He's a good guy. Though I'm not completely opposed to the fact you guys will no longer be having dinner together." 

"What is up with you today?" Betty asked. "Or for the last two weeks?" Jughead stared at her and then shook his head. 

"Nothing." He finally said. "I'm sorry we haven't really been hanging out." He wrapped an arm around Betty's shoulder and pulled her close, making her smile. 

"Then let's stop talking about Peter." Betty said, before kissing him. Jughead kissed her back and moved back on the bed. He pulled Betty on top of him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck while they kissed. She stopped to take her shirt off, and he helped her, throwing it on the floor when it was off. She closed her eyes and bit her lip while he kissed her neck, letting his hands slide down her breasts.

An hour later, Betty had dozed off. When she heard the sound of a zipper, she opened her eyes and sat up, holding the blanket over her bare chest. Jughead's back was faced towards her, and he had just thrown his jacket on. 

"You're leaving?" Betty asked. He turned around and looked at her, running a hand through his unruly hair. 

"I promised Sweet Pea I would meet him." Jughead explained. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"And do what? Drink all night?" 

"You know I don't drink, Betts." Jughead said, with a knowing look. Betty only nodded silently. Jughead smiled and leaned down, kissing her forehead. 

"I promise, I'll call you in the morning." He said in a quiet voice. Betty nodded again, and he quietly opened her door and left. Betty let out a sigh and leaned against her pillows. Her body ached the slightest bit. She stood up and put a shirt on before walking over to the window. She wanted to see if Charles was still at her house.

When she looked out the window and at the driveway, his car was gone. She then looked straight ahead, at Archie's window. She saw Archie and Peter in there. It looked like they were talking. Archie had a duffle bag with him as if he was ready to go somewhere. Betty assumed he was going to Veronica's for the weekend. She remembered two years ago when Fred had been strict about things like that. He was much more lenient now. 

Peter gave Archie a tight-lipped smile and nodded at whatever he said, and then Archie turned and left the room. As soon as Archie was gone, Peter's smile disappeared and he shook his head. Betty couldn't help but smile at that. She watched as he got his phone out and dialed a number before pressing the phone to his ear. Betty realized what she was doing, and closed her curtains.

Suddenly there was a knock at her door, and she turned around. She sat down on the bed and pulled her blanket over her legs before saying anything. "Come in." She said after a few seconds. She watched as her father opened the door and stuck his head in. He smiled warmly at Betty.

"Just came in to say goodnight." He said. Betty nodded. 

"Alright." 

"Also, next time Jughead comes over, don't let me catch him." Hal said. Betty's smile dropped. 

"Oh." She said flatly. 

"You're lucky it wasn't your mother who saw him." Hal said, then winked at Betty. Betty rolled her eyes and smiled. 

"Goodnight." She said. Hal nodded and closed the door. Betty turned the light off and went to bed after that. 

The weekend blurred together, and so did the week after that. It felt like the same things. Betty and Kevin met up at the Blue and Gold after school on Tuesday and Thursday. Jughead was there on Tuesday, but he never showed on Thursday, which was odd to both Betty and Kevin. Peter showed up for lunch on Wednesday, but the rest of the week, nobody saw him at lunch. Betty didn't notice all that much, because of her decision to not approach him anymore. But now it was Friday, and she was excited about the game that night. Archie was playing, and she planned on going to the game with Kevin. She would meet Veronica on the field to practice their cheers before the game. Jughead and Kevin were going to sit together on the bleachers. 

Betty was going to Kevin's house after school so they could get ready for the game, but they had stopped by Betty's locker so she could get a few things. Class had just ended a few minutes before. Kevin was leaning against the locker next to hers, and talking to her when they both heard a slamming sound. They both turned to look down the hallway. 

Reggie and his friends were walking down the hallway and while passing Peter, he had shouldered him into the lockers. Reggie was glaring at Peter, who had turned around to look at Reggie. 

"Next time get out of my way." Reggie snapped. Peter stood there, opening and closing his fist behind his back. He suddenly relaxed his hand and smiled. 

"Sorry, my bad." He said, before turning around and continuing to walk in the direction he had been walking. Reggie shook his head and did the same. Betty rolled her eyes and looked at her locker, grabbing her cheer bow, and shutting it. 

"Would it be bad to wish Reggie sprained an ankle tonight?" Kevin asked. Betty began to walk with Kevin next to her. 

"Not exactly, Kev." Betty said. "He's been treating Peter like that all week." 

"Well, Milton's father will threaten to press charges if he continued to shove him around." Kevin said with a shrug. "Peter's cute. Is he gay?" Kevin asked Betty. Betty smiled at her friend. 

"You have Joaquin. And... He has an ex-girlfriend. Not gay." Betty pushed open the school doors and walked with Kevin towards her car. "Speaking of Joaquin, is he coming to the game tonight?" Betty asked. 

"Nah. He told me that he, Jughead, and Sweet Pea were hanging out. Possibly Fangs too." Kevin explained. Betty stopped walking and turned towards Kevin. 

"Jughead? But... Jughead's supposed to come to the game." Betty said. Kevin shrugged. 

"I don't know, Betts. He's been busy lately. With... The Serpents." 

"What are they doing, Kev?" 

"Your guess is as good as mine. Joaquin doesn't give me the details." Kevin let out a sigh and got into Betty's car. Betty bit the inside of her cheek and got in the Driver's side. "Hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe all four of them will come to the game together." Kevin said, giving Betty his best smile. Betty tried to smile and failed. 

"Maybe." She said softly. She started the engine and drove to his house. Betty was surprised to find her brother at the Keller's house. When they got there, Charles and the sheriff were sitting at the dining room table, looking over a bunch of papers. "C?" Betty said. Charles looked up, along with Tom Keller. They both stood up, and Tom gathered up the papers. 

"What are you guys doing here? I thought you said you wouldn't be home after school." Kevin said. Tom smiled at both teenagers. 

"We were actually just about to leave." 

"Everything okay?" Betty asked. 

"Of course. Just going to take a trip down to the Southside, with Cooper here." Tom looked at Charles, who nodded at Betty. "Alright, well we should get going," Tom said, patting Kevin's shoulder and then brushing past him. "Nice seeing you, Betty," Tom called back. Betty smiled back at him in return, and then looked at Charles. 

"Charles..." 

"It has nothing to do with your little boyfriend, I promise." Charles said, before she could ask. "Have fun at the game." He said before following his boss outside. Betty looked at Kevin who shook his head. 

"You can worry any other night, but not tonight. Go change." Kevin said sternly. His voice was full of humor, despite that stern tone. Betty smiled and nodded. She got changed, and did her makeup, while Kevin talked her ear off. When she was done, they killed time by watching a show. After an hour and a half of being at Kevin's house, Betty decided it was time to go. 

"I should get to the field. I'll see you in the bleachers later, right?" Betty asked Kev. He nodded enthusiastically. 

"Of course. Tell Veronica I said hi." Kevin said. Betty nodded and left the house. She had to get to the field at least forty-five minutes before the game started so she could practice with the other girls.

By the time she got there, the football players were all there including Archie, and so was Veronica. She walked over to where Veronica was stretching on the grass and took a seat. When Veronica saw Betty, she smiled. The sky was beginning to darken by then. 

"About time." Veronica said. Betty began stretching herself. She looked over to see Cheryl, explaining something to Toni. Toni was the co-captain of the cheer team. It was a biased choice, but cheerleading wasn't Betty's favorite thing in the whole world anyway, so it didn't bother her. It did, however, bother Veronica, who ranted about the decision every chance she got. Veronica cut off Betty's thoughts. "Is Jug coming later?" 

"He's supposed to." Betty said, clipping her words. Veronica suddenly looked worried. 

"Well, that's not the answer I was expecting." She said flatly. 

"Well lately, the three stooges seem to be more important than high school football games, V." Betty said, the sarcasm in her voice surprising Veronica. 

"You love those three stooges as much as he does." Veronica pointed out, immediately knowing who Betty was talking about. "Besides, Jughead never missed a game you were at last year. I suspect it will be the same, this year." Veronica said, giving Betty's shoulder a squeeze. 

"Okay, that's enough chit chat!" Cheryl suddenly yelled. Everybody stood up and faced her. "It's the first game of the season. That means, no screw-ups." Cheryl said, with a raised eyebrow. She then looked at Betty with a smile. "That means you, Cooper." Betty looked at Veronica, who shook her head in disapproval. "Let's go over the cheer," Cheryl said, stubbornly. 

They went over the cheer once, which turned into twice, which turned into three times. By the time they were finished with the cheer for the third time, people were arriving and they had ten minutes left until the game was meant to start.

Betty looked up into the bleachers and saw Kevin, sitting next to Moose. He saw Betty and smiled, waving. Moose waved too. Betty smiled and waved back, before turning back around and seeing that Archie was talking to Veronica. Betty walked over to the two. Archie saw Betty and smiled. 

"Hey, Betty." He said. Betty nodded. 

"Where's Jug?" She asked. Archie looked at the bleachers as if expecting to see him and frowned. 

"Uh, I don't know. He was-" 

"Andrews!" Reggie called from behind him. Archie turned and looked at him. "Seven minutes left, let's go!" Reggie barked. Archie turned back to the two girls and sighed. 

"I'll talk to you guys later, okay?" Archie then jogged over to where his team was. Betty looked at Veronica who shook her head. 

"He's going to come. Don't worry, he's just running late." Veronica said dismissively. "You're coming to Cheryl's party afterward, right?" Veronica asked. 

"I think so." Betty said. Veronica smiled. 

"Good. you're coming to the party with me then. Leave your car here overnight for now. Alright?" 

"Yeah." 

"Cooper! Lodge!" Cheryl suddenly yelled. Both the girls looked at her. "Let's go." Cheryl snapped. Betty and Veronica looked at each other before stifling laughs and walking over to their original spots on the grass. But one part of Betty couldn't deny, that she was a little hurt Jughead hadn't come. There were still two hours for him to show up, but a gut feeling in her told her that he wasn't coming. 


	4. Cheryl Blossom's Legendary Party

Silver Lining chapter 4: Cheryl Blossom’s Legendary Party

It had been halftime when Betty and Veronica got to take a break, after their short dance. The flag team was performing while they were taking a break from standing up. They sat on the grass, on the sidelines and talked while they had time. Jughead still had not shown. And it was obvious he wasn't going to. 

"Well, he's definitely not coming." Betty said, picking at the grass in annoyance. Veronica let out a sigh. 

"I'm sorry, B." Veronica put a hand on her back. 

"He could have at least called or texted, instead of ignoring me." Betty said flatly. "You would figure after all this time, that would be the obvious thing to do, right?" Veronica wasn't really paying attention to Betty's venting. She was looking behind them, at the bleachers. Suddenly, a smile spread across her face. 

"Is that Parker?" She asked. Betty frowned and turned around. Standing awkwardly next to Kevin, with his hands shoved in his pockets, was Peter. He was wearing a t-shirt with some cheesy joke on it, under a hoodie. Peter glanced at Betty as if he knew she was looking at him, and then looked back at Kevin. He pointed behind him and said something as if he was trying to leave. Kevin only shook his head and laughed. He pulled Peter down beside him and said something else. Peter only clenched his jaw shut and nodded. 

"Yeah..." Betty said, mostly to herself. It was a little odd. She never would have guessed Peter would go to a high school football game. But then again, Jughead never was the type to go to them if it wasn't for Betty and Archie. Maybe Archie convinced Peter to stop by at some point. 

"Let's go say hi!" Veronica said, pulling Betty up and heading towards the stairs. Before Betty could protest, Veronica was already running up the stairs. Betty rolled her eyes and followed her eager friend. When Kevin saw them, he smiled wide and stood up. Peter stayed sitting down, and only glanced at them. 

"You guys were great!" Kevin said happily. He then looked at Peter. "Look who came!" 

"What are you doing here?" Betty asked. Peter looked at her and then narrowed his eyes as if her tone surprised him. 

"I was just uh... I wasn't planning on staying. Archie told me to come." He glanced towards the parking lot, on the side of the stadium. Betty assumed Archie really did tell Peter to come, but something told her Peter wasn't there for the game. He kept glancing at the parking lot. Betty was about to say something when Veronica beat her to it. While Kevin was talking, Peter tried to sneak away. 

"Not so fast!" She said. Peter looked at her, with a confused, boyish look. "You may have gotten away the last fifty times but you are not disappearing on us this time, you ghost!" Peter looked at Kevin, who couldn't help but smile. 

"Did she just call me a ghost?" He muttered to Kevin, who burst out laughing. Betty smiled humorously. 

"You are staying the rest of the game whether you like it. And you are coming to Cheryl's party." Veronica commanded. Peter laughed nervously. 

"Oh, I don't go to parties-"

"You do now." She said, cutting him off. "You're in Riverdale now. Get used to it." 

"You can't disobey Veronica Lodge." Kevin said to Peter. "It's the policy here." 

"But-" He began to say, but Veronica wasn't having it. 

"Nope. No buts." She said triumphantly. Betty raised an eyebrow at Veronica's strange, but normal behavior. Veronica was usually bossy. That didn't mean it never failed to surprise Betty. Peter looked like a deer in headlights. He had never encountered Veronica's wrath before. "Now if you would excuse me, Betty and I have business to attend to." Betty took Betty's hand and practically dragged her down the stairs. 

"Veronica, what the hell? He doesn't know you're joking." Veronica said when they got back down to the field. 

"I'm not joking, that boy needs to learn socializing." Veronica said happily. She looked back up at the bleachers, and took her pointer and middle finger, pointed them at her eyes, and then pointed them at Peter. Peter frowned, and Kevin laughed next to him. Betty rolled her eyes and pushed Veronica lightly. 

The rest of the game wasn't special. Their team won, fourteen to seven. Betty and Veronica watched as the whole football team jumped all over each other like a bunch of idiots. Betty noticed Cheryl look at them as if they were animals. Betty and Veronica went to change in the girls' locker room and then went to the parking lot. Kevin and Peter were standing by Veronica's car in the parking lot, and Peter had his hands in his pockets. And he kept looking around the parking lot. Kevin didn't seem to notice and was talking a lot. Peter obviously wasn't listening to a word.

"Well hello." Veronica said. Both Kevin and Peter looked at the couple of girls. They had changed out of their uniforms and held their bags by their sides. "You decided to come." She said to Peter. 

"I have a choice?" He asked. 

"Oh, god no." Veronica said. "Of course not." Peter just shook his head. Suddenly Archie came behind Veronica and picked her up. Betty took a step away. She smiled and then smacked his arm. "Archie Andrews you better put me down this instant!" She scolded. Archie laughed and did as she pleased. It was then he noticed Peter. 

"Oh hey. You actually came." He said. 

"Yeah." Peter mumbled, and then looked away. Betty noticed the little tension between them. She wondered if they argued before the game. 

"Are you coming to the party?" Archie asked. Peter was about to answer when Veronica did that for him. 

"Of course he is. Are you riding with us, Archiekins?" Veronica asked. Archie smiled. 

"Sure." He said, then turned around. He looked at Reggie, who seemed to be waiting for him. Archie waved his hand dismissively at Reggie, telling him he wouldn't be riding with Reggie. Veronica nodded. 

"Alright then." She said, before unlocking the car, and getting in. Archie got in the front with Veronica, and Kevin got in the back first. Betty got in after Kevin and sat in the middle. She looked at Peter, who was staring at the last leather seat. 

"You coming, or not Peter?" Betty asked, tearing him out of his thoughts. He looked at Betty, who raised an eyebrow. Their eyes locked on each other, and for a minute, Betty got a close look at his light brown eyes. He finally nodded. 

"Yeah." He mumbled before getting in next to Betty and shutting the door behind him. Betty shook her head and rolled her eyes. She dreaded it most, being between Peter and Kevin, with barely enough room. Peter especially seemed uncomfortable, having her against his shoulder. At one point, Veronica took a sharp left turn, and when Betty leaned into Peter, he would glance at her, and then quickly make sure not to look at her again, for at least a few minutes. It was a cycle that went on all through the ride to Cheryl's. Betty kind of liked putting him on edge. 

When Veronica pulled into the property of Cheryl's house, Kevin was the first to get out. The rest got out after him. They could hear the loud, thumping music from outside, and it was dark outside by then. Betty looked at Peter, who looked like he would rather be at home. Betty didn't say anything, she just walked over to where Veronica was. A bunch of other cars were pulling up, with shouting teenagers. They all went into the house. Suddenly Betty could hear Cheryl yelling, and then Cheryl walked past the group. 

"I don't care! Get those filthy Serpents off my property, Toni!" Cheryl shouted, before walking away. Betty's eyes lit up. 

"Jughead's here?" She asked, looking at Veronica. Veronica shrugged, and Betty walked away, going to look for him. Betty walked into the kitchen, where Sweet Pea and Fangs were laughing hysterically. Betty could tell they had been drinking. She suddenly walked up to Sweet Pea and smacked his shoulder, making him jump. 

"Owe!" He yelled. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"Where's my boyfriend?" She asked. Sweet Pea stared at her as if he had no idea what she was talking about. Then his face lit up. 

"Hey! Congrats! The Bulldogs won. Go bulldogs!" Sweet Pea looked at Fangs and they both started to laugh and make dog noises. Betty frowned and stared at them incredulously. 

"Idiots!" She yelled, getting their attention. "Where is Jughead?" 

"Oh, Jughead." Fangs said. "Yeah, he's not here. He went over to Peaches' house." Sweet Pea suddenly smirked, and Fangs elbowed him. Betty stared at them both with a confused and slightly broken expression. 

"He's with Peaches?" She asked. Suddenly Sweet Pea looked at her, and it was as if he was sober. 

"Wait, we didn't mean-" He began, but Betty shook her head. 

"I got the picture." She said, before walking away from them both. 

"Betts! Come on." Fangs called behind her. She wormed her way through people with her head down, and at one point she felt someone grab her arm. Not tightly, or violently, but it was a gentle touch. Betty looked up to see Peter. He was staring at her with narrowed eyebrows. 

"Are you okay?" He asked. Betty rolled her eyes and shook his hand off her. 

"Do me a favor. Stop following me like a little puppy dog. You agreed to come. So do something useful." Betty snapped. Peter looked like her words hurt him, but only for a split second. The look was gone as soon as it came. Now, he just looked done. Over everything. He nodded silently. 

"Right. I'll do that." He said, before walking away. Betty felt guilt clench her gut. She shook her head and continued to make her way through people. She froze when she heard Cheryl's booming voice, and the music turn off. Her voice was coming from the living room. Betty walked in and across the room, saw Veronica and Archie behind Cheryl. 

"Alright, that's enough of that." Cheryl said. "It's time for the Blossom Party tradition! You know what this means." Across the room, Betty saw Peter come up to Archie and tap him on the shoulder. He said something, and then Archie shook his head and said something. Betty understood the interaction without having to hear it. Peter wanted to leave, but Archie was going to make him stay for Cheryl's stupid games. Betty hated the games, but Cheryl liked to cause trouble. 

Betty was getting uncomfortable herself. She pulled out her phone and looked at her home screen. No new messages. She thought about what Fangs and Sweet Pea had said. Peaches was a serpent that Jughead was friends with. But the way Fangs and Sweet Pea said that they were hanging out, made Betty uneasy. 

"Who wants to go first?" Cheryl asked, holding up the bottle she had been using for the game for the past three years. 

"You have to explain the rules to the newbies, babe." Toni said. Cheryl smiled sweetly at her girlfriend. 

"Of course. I almost forgot." She said. She then looked around at the crowd. "Rules are simple. It's like seven minutes in heaven, except we've been doing fifteen. I brought it up a notch. Someone spins the bottle, and whoever it lands on has to go on the closet for fifteen minutes." Cheryl shrugged. Betty looked across the room at Peter, who was staring hard at the floor. "Now who is going first?" Cheryl shouted. The room was filled with silence for a minute. 

"I'm going first." Reggie declared. Cheryl smirked and held out the bottle. He took it and put it on the coffee table. He seemed a little too excited about getting his turn. Betty hoped to god it wouldn't land on her. She didn't even know why she was still there. She turned and was about to walk out of the room when Cheryl spotted her.

"Hey, Cooper!" She yelled. Betty rolled her eyes and turned back to Cheryl.

"Yes?"

"Everyone plays." She said, her voice demanding. "If you refuse to play, you're suspended from the cheer team." Betty felt anger seethe in her. 

"You can't do that." Betty protested.

"Oh yes, I can." Cheryl shot back. "Now get back to your spot." Betty looked at Veronica and Archie, who were looking at her sympathetically. Betty rolled her eyes and went back to the spot she was just in. Reggie smiled and then spun the bottle. The few seconds where the bottle just spun, were anxiety-filled. When the bottle finally slowed and came to a complete stop, it landed on a girl Betty didn't recognize. She looked like a sophomore. _gross_ , Betty thought. Reggie seemed happy with the choice. 

"Alright, you two go to the closet in the other room. The closet in here I'm saving for a special couple." Cheryl said with a smile. Once Reggie and the sophomore girl left, Cheryl looked at Betty, and her heart dropped. "Cooper. Your turn." 

"What, no way." Betty said, defensively. 

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Cheryl asked. She stared directly into Betty's eyes, challenging her. Betty scoffed and shook her head. It was a kid's game. 

"Fine." Betty said, walking over to the table, and violently spinning the bottle. She took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest, staring at Cheryl, who watched the bottle spin with a light in her eyes. It felt like the bottle took forever to stop spinning, and Betty looked at it when it began to slow. She was hoping it would at least land on a girl, not wanting to go into that closet alone with a boy. But it landed on the very last person she wanted to go into the closet with. It landed on Peter. 

When the bottle stopped on Peter, everyone looked at him. He didn't even seem to be paying attention to the game. He had been squinting his eyes, looking out a window. When he realized everyone was staring at him, he looked at the bottle pointing at him, and then looked at Betty, his eyes widening slightly. 

"Well, look at that." Cheryl said, smirking. "You two. Get in the closet over there." She said, nodding towards the closet in the far corner of the room. 

"Uhh-" Peter began, but Cheryl wasn't having it. 

"Want to make it an hour in the closet?" Cheryl asked. Betty watched as Peter shook his head. "Good. Now get in." Betty rolled her eyes and walked in the closet, her arms still crossed over her chest. Peter hesitantly followed her in, and then Cheryl slammed the door closed. When Betty heard the sound of a bolt sliding into place, she frowned. She tried to open the door, but it wouldn't open. 

"Are you kidding me?" She asked nobody in particular. Betty let out a sigh and rested her forehead on the door. 

"Have fun!" They heard Cheryl call. "Let's move into another room." She then said, to the others. Betty shook her head. It was completely silent in the closet, and she could feel Peter staring at her in the dark. She looked at him. 

"I'm-"

"If you say you're sorry, Peter, I might strangle you." Betty said firmly. Peter closed his mouth. She studied him. "Have you been drinking?" She asked. Peter shook his head. 

"I don't drink alcohol." He said. Betty nodded. _Of course he didn't_ , she thought. 

"This is stupid." Betty said flatly. 

"This is why I don't go to parties." Peter said, and when Betty looked at him, he smiled at her. It was an innocent, goofy smile, and Betty couldn't help but laugh a little. She thought it was cute, although she would never say that out loud. 

"Where do you go?" Betty asked. He looked at her confused. "Where is it that you disappear to? You've been to Riverdale for about three weeks, and you're known for disappearing." Peter smiled and looked down at the floor. 

"If I told you where I go, it wouldn't be disappearing anymore." He said. Betty thought about that. 

"I guess." Betty said. Silence filled the closet, and nobody spoke for a minute. "Why do I make you nervous?" Betty asked. Peter looked at her in surprise and didn't say anything for a few seconds. 

"You don't make me nervous." He said softly. Betty took a step towards him, expecting him to take a step back. But he didn't move an inch. He just watched her. Betty wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her forearms on his shoulder. She slowly looked for the hair on the back of his neck and began playing with it, watching as he clenched his jaw shut and swallowed hard. 

"This doesn't make you nervous?" Betty asked. 

"No." Peter said after a few seconds. For a minute, all they did was look into each other's eyes. "You have really nice eyes." Peter suddenly said. "They're kind of hard to see in the dark, but they're still nice." This, for a change, caught Betty off guard. She had to look away from him and at the ground. It was something she had never been complimented on before. Hearing it from Peter gave her mixed feelings. "I'm sorry," Peter said softly. "Did I make you uncomfortable?" Betty looked back up at him. 

"You're the only guy I know who would ever ask such a question." Betty stated. That seemed to make Peter smile. 

"You clearly haven't met the woman who raised me." He said. When Betty thought of it, she really hadn't even seen May Parker before. She was mostly inside the house, and Betty had no idea what the woman looked like or anything. Suddenly, Betty heard the bolt sliding on the other side of the door, and she removed her arms from his shoulders, taking a step back. Peter didn't move, he only glanced at the door. 

Cheryl opened the door after another few seconds and looked into the closet with squinted eyes. When she saw Betty and Peter apart, that seemed to disappoint her. 

"How boring. Get out." She ordered. Betty rolled her eyes and looked at Peter. 

"Bye, Peter." She said, before leaving the closet. He got out after her and watched as she walked out of the room. Betty was going to find Veronica when she saw Sweet Pea walking towards her. She stopped and waited. 

"Jug's on the roof." He said, before walking away. Betty frowned and watched him walk away. _on the roof?_ She rolled her eyes and walked up the stairs. She knew exactly what she was going to say to him. Just the thought of him pissed her off.

She eventually found the window that leads to the roof and climbed through it. It didn't seem too safe up there. When she stepped onto the roof, she realized she had to be careful where she stepped or else the tiles of the old house might slip. She spotted Jughead, sitting with Peaches. It looked like he was smoking, and she was talking to him. The image infuriated Betty even more.

"Jughead?" Betty said, making both of them turn to her. Jughead quickly put out the cigarette and stood up. So did Peaches. 

"Oh, hey baby!" He said obnoxiously. Betty felt disappointed. He was drunk. She expected herself to yell, but suddenly she felt the energy drained from her. 

"Where have you been?" Betty asked, surprisingly calm. She did her best to walk closer without tripping over the tiles. 

"Oh yeah, sorry I missed the game." He said although he didn't sound sorry. It was so unlike him to act that way. 

"Where were you?" She repeated. 

"I was with Pea and Fangs. And then I went to Peaches' place." He said as if it was obvious. Betty looked at Peaches, who looked awfully uncomfortable. But there was a small smirk playing on her lips, and that made Betty's blood boil. 

"You were at Peaches? Well, I am so glad you had fun at Peaches." Betty spat. The energy was coming back, feeding her anger. Jughead frowned at that, and Peaches rolled her eyes. 

"Get a grip, barbie." She said. Betty glared at her. 

"Peaches." Jughead said as if warning her. 

"He doesn't want to be with you. Or go to your stupid high school football games." Peaches snapped. Jughead looked irritated suddenly. Betty looked between them. Suddenly Peaches was walking towards her, and Betty backed away, getting dangerously close to the edge of the roof. 

"Peaches, stop." Jughead warned. Peaches ignored him. 

"He may not have the balls to say it to your face, but face it. He's a Serpent, and you're just a Northside cheerleader. One day Fp is going to die. Who's going to take his place? Jughead. So it's better he's with a Serpent like me. I get it. You don't." She spat. Betty looked past Peaches at Jughead, who looked exhausted. 

"What is this?" Betty asked. "You fucking her?" That made Jughead stare at her with a hardness in his face. 

"Betts..." He sighed. 

"Fuck you! Fuck both of you." Betty was looking at Peaches now. 

"I wasn't finished." Peaches said, taking another step towards Betty. Betty took a step back, and she could feel the part of the roof where it stopped with her foot. She looked back and saw Cheryl's backyard and the ground. The ground seemed far away from up there. So far. Betty looked back at Peaches. 

"Tell your sister to stay away from The Serpents." Peaches warned. 

"That's enough." Jughead said, walking up to them now. Betty couldn't help herself. She suddenly shoved Peaches, hard. This seemed to make her very angry, and she shoved Betty back. Harder than Betty shoved her. "Betty!" She heard Jughead yell. Suddenly she lost her balance, and she didn't feel the roof beneath her feet anymore. 

Betty let out a scream and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt her stomach drop and the wind all over her skin. She expected to feel pain once she hit the ground. Or to just open her eyes and not feel anything, from the shock that she fell. Instead, she felt the grip of someone catching her, and then the sound of someone letting out a small groan from the impact.

Betty found herself naturally clutching onto whoever had caught her. When Betty slowly opened her eyes and turned her head, Peter was there, staring at her. He had caught her. Betty's arm had been slung around his neck, and her nails were digging into the side of his neck, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it. 

"How... What-" 

"Why were you on the roof?" Peter asked incredulously. 

"Put me down." Betty said sternly. Peter knelt a little and then helped her stand up. Betty looked up at the roof and saw Jughead yelling at Peaches. He must have seen Peter catch Betty because he wasn't paying attention to her anymore. He was intent on scolding Peaches. Betty didn't care nonetheless. Their relationship was over. The finality hadn't completely hit Betty yet, considering she just fell off a roof. She then looked at Peter, who kept watching Betty as if she would break any second. 

"How did you know I was going to fall?" She asked him. 

"I didn't." He said although something in his eyes told her he was lying. "I was just... Here. And I heard you fall." 

"Okay..." Betty said slowly. 

"Betty!" Betty turned around to see Veronica running out of the house towards her. She ran to Betty and hugged her, surprising her. "Oh my god, are you okay? Toni told me you..." Veronica looked at the roof and back at Betty. "You fell off the roof?" It came out more of a question than a statement. 

"I'm fine." Betty said. "Can you please take me home?" Betty whispered the last part. The events of the night were hitting her. She looked back up at the roof. Jughead and Peaches were gone. The fact she had just lost her boyfriend was starting to feel very real. Suddenly she felt like vomiting. He didn't do anything when Peaches cornered her against the edge of the roof. 

"Yes, of course. Let's just go get Kevin and Archie, okay? Come on, Peter." Veronica wrapped an arm around Betty, and lead her back inside with Peter following them. In the car, Betty had leaned her head against Peter's shoulder and closed her eyes. She didn't really realize she was doing it, it was almost natural. But Peter let her rest her head there nonetheless. 

Veronica dropped Kevin off first, and then went to Betty and Archie's street. Peter had to wake Betty up when they got there. He shook her gently until she woke up. Archie was planning on going to Veronica's after they were dropped off. They got out of the car, and Betty said goodbye to Peter before they went their separate ways.

It was three in the morning by the time they were all home. What Betty wasn't expecting, was Jughead in her bedroom once she got there. He was waiting for her, sitting on her bed. Betty stared at him, unsure of what to say. 

"Betts, I am so sorry." Jughead said, coming to her and touching her shoulder as if he was about to pull her into a hug. Betty immediately pushed him away. 

"Don't touch me." She said. He looked hurt by her words, but he recovered. 

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened, okay I messed up." 

"You've been disappearing. A lot. And you won't tell me where you go, or what you do." Betty said. Jughead nodded. "You didn't come to the game, which was upsetting if I'm being honest. You told me you were going to be there. But in the end, it would have been fine. But then, I find out you're with Peaches. At her house. I get you guys are friends... But, you can't just do that. You can't lie to me and then go to a girl's house it looks bad. Do you know how that makes me feel?" 

"I know. I know-"

"And then when I accused you of having a sexual relationship with her, you said nothing. You don't deny it. Do you have something you would like to add to that?" Betty asked. Jughead said nothing for a minute, and Betty felt tears prick her eyes. 

"It's been a long night, I've been drinking, and I'm not myself. I am so sorry, it will never happen again." Jughead said. Betty closed her eyes and shook her head. 

"Oh you won't do it again? You were drinking? I guess that makes it alright then. My bad." Betty said, her voice cracking. 

"You know that's not what I meant-" 

"Please leave." 

"Betts, come on." 

"I want you to go." Betty said firmly. She then nodded as if that was right. "Yeah. I want you to leave. And I don't want you to ever come back. We're done."

"No. No, please don't say that." Jughead said. 

"Jug, you've been like this for months." Betty whispered. "I can't keep doing it. I just can't. Because if I continue to be with you, I know you will go places without telling me, and I know you will either be at The Whyte Wyrm or running an errand for your dad. But I'll convince myself you're with her. I will." 

"But-"

"Should I bring up the fact I got pushed off a roof tonight and you did nothing to stop it. Or, that she said all those awful things to me and you were unfazed?" Betty asked. Jughead fell silent, and she felt the first hot, wet tear roll down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away and sniffed. "Leave, or I'll scream for my dad." She said. Jughead hesitated, staring at her for a few seconds. He finally let out a sigh and walked past her. He left her room, shutting the door quietly behind him. 

When he was gone, Betty felt her knees buckle beneath her, and suddenly the tears were rolling down her face. She crawled on top of her bed and lay there, crying. This time wasn't like the other times they had temporarily broken up. This time it was permanent. 

When Betty was done shedding tears, something occurred to her. She wasn't thinking about it at the moment, but she remembered. She remembered Peaches saying _Tell your sister to stay away from the Serpents._ It was a little odd. Why would Polly want to be involved with the Serpents anyway? She hung out with The Ghoulies. Unless Polly was trying to get information out of the Serpents. 

Betty thought about this. The whole situation made her realize there was a lot she didn't know. Betty made it a mental note to ask Polly if she had been talking to the Serpents at all lately. She also realized she had left her duffle bag in the trunk of Veronica's car, but it was fine. She would get it at some point during the weekend. 

Betty got ready for bed, getting changed, and taking her makeup off. Often her mind would linger back to Jughead, and she would have a strong urge to cry again. Or her throat would close up and it would be hard to swallow that lump. It was still so surreal. Betty crawled under the covers and closed her eyes. But sleep never came that night. 

The next morning, Betty heard chatter at the dining table, coming down the stairs. When she came down, her whole family looked at her. Charles was in his uniform, and he looked at Betty with such a sympathy that scared her. 

"Good morning, Betty." Alice said, not daring look Betty in the eyes. Something was definitely off. 

"What's going on?" Betty asked. 

"Sit down." Hal said. Betty hesitantly took a seat at the table, and Charles looked at her. 

"Where were you last night?" He asked. Betty looked at Polly, who shook her head. 

"Why?" Betty asked. 

"Where were you last night?" He asked again. 

"I was at a party. It was a party at Cheryl Blossom's house. I went with Veronica, Archie, Kevin, and Peter." Betty said. Charles nodded. "What happened?" Charles then looked at their parents before looking at Betty again. 

"Fangs Fogerty was found dead at Cheryl's house this morning." Charles said. Betty gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She really did feel like she was going to puke. Suddenly, her eyes began to water. Fangs was one of Betty's friends, mostly by association with Jughead, but he was still a friend. She shook her head. 

"No... No." She began to say. 

"Elizabeth." Alice said, but Betty ignored her. 

"What happened?" She asked, her voice cracking. 

"I can't tell you, yet." Charles whispered. Betty squeezed her eyes shut and felt the hot tears. 

"He's a Serpent." Polly said, and Betty looked at her. "It's not much of a loss. Life goes on." Betty stared at her sister, shocked. Polly shrugged, and stood up, beginning to whistle a tune Betty didn't recognize. She walked up the stairs, calmly whistling. Betty turned Polly's words over and over again in her head. _Life goes on._ Betty hadn't truly realized how much those words scared her, coming from Polly's mouth. 


	5. Nightmares

Peter remembered hearing the screaming. There was so much screaming. And yet, nothing he could do. He was back in that iron suit, back in the same place Tony lost his life. Only it was different because Quentin was there. Pepper was crying, but Peter didn't see Tony anywhere. He could barely breathe. Then he realized why. When he looked down, there was blood. So much blood. Too much blood. Suddenly, he woke up, gasping for air. 

When he was finally able to calm himself, he closed his eyes and breathed in. His heart was thumping so loud, he could hear it in his ears. He felt wet, and he realized it was because he was sweating so much. He felt his back, soaked with sweat. For a second he convinced himself it was blood. But he quickly came to his senses.

It was still the works of the nightmare. Archie groaned in his bed across the room and turned, causing Peter to look at him. "You good, man?" Archie mumbled, sleepily. Peter's chest was still rising and falling at a rather quick pace, but he was calming down. 

"Yeah." He whispered. "I'm just going to get some air." He got out of bed and took his shirt off. 

"Mhm." Archie mumbled. His eyes were closed and it seemed as if he was falling back asleep. Peter put on a dry sweatshirt and quietly left the room. He knew he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep that night. He crept down the stairs and left the house silently. He looked at his watch as he walked down the driveway. It was two in the morning. 

He wasn't in the mood to put his suit on and go on a round, so he decided he would just stay outside for a little bit. Suddenly he found himself looking towards Betty's window, and he hated himself for it but he didn't stop. To his surprise, the light was on in there. He furrowed his eyebrows and walked slowly around to get a better look. Then it occurred to him how creepy that was, and he almost turned back around immediately, but before he could, he saw her. 

Betty was sitting straight up on her bed, and it looked like she was in pain. Peter couldn't understand what happened for her to be like that, and then he realized. She was looking at her laptop, and on the screen was a video playing, with Jughead in it. He looked at her face and realized there were tears streaming down her face. Something clenched Peter's gut, and he looked away. 

It had been two weeks since the party. Peter honestly wasn't sure what happened, but he overheard Archie talking about it with Veronica one day at the house. He was about to walk into the room when he heard their voices, low. They talked about how Jughead had cheated on Betty, and how they truly couldn't believe he would ever do something like that. That was basically all Peter got because then he walked in and they stopped talking. 

He guessed she was upset about Fangs too. After Peter found out he died, he went back to the Blossom house and found nothing. Whatever evidence there was, the police got to it first. Peter let out a sigh and put his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt. It was Sunday, and he would have to go back to school the next day. 

It was starting to get cold outside, as it was mid-October. The temperature was starting to drop every day. Peter was counting the days until Winter break, so he could go back to Queens and see Ned. He really missed his best friend, although they talked on the phone almost every day. After Peter told Ned about the party, Ned couldn't believe it. 

He breathed out, seeing his breath against the cold air. He assumed his hair was a mess of curls. He usually put product in it to keep it from getting curly every day, but if he looked up, he could see a curl hanging down on his forehead. After spending a few more minutes outside, he looked back at Betty's window. The lights were off. He was glad because something told him he wouldn't have been able to go back inside until that light was off. He nodded, satisfied, and then went back inside. 

He opened and closed the door as quietly as he could, to not wake Archie or Fred. But he saw a light on in the kitchen. He quietly walked in, to see May with her big round glasses on, reading a book at the table. She was wearing her pajamas, but she looked wide awake. Her long, slightly messy brown hair hung down over her shoulders. When she sensed Peter standing there, she looked up and smiled warmly. 

"Sneaking out?" She asked in a hushed voice. Peter shook his head. 

"I had a nightmare." He said. May nodded as if that made sense. He took a seat across from her, and she marked her place in her book, closing it and setting it down. 

"What was this one about?" She asked softly. Peter stared down at the tabletop. 

"The war. Tony. Beck was there." Peter suddenly rubbed his hands over his face. May reached over and took one of his hands. He looked at her. 

"I'm sorry." She said. Then she smiled. "Happy called yesterday. I'm surprised he didn't call you." 

"He texted me." Peter said flatly. "What did he say to you?" 

"Just congratulated me. Asked how you were. What did his text say?" 

"He told me to stay out of trouble." Peter said, and May laughed quietly at that. 

"Of course he did." She said. It was quiet for a few minutes. "I know you were at that party with Archie when that boy died. Did you see anything?" Peter shook his head. 

"I was a little preoccupied if I'm honest." He mumbled. May raised an eyebrow at that. 

"Oh?" 

"It's not what you think. Riverdale kids can't take no for an answer." Peter grumbled. May smiled and shook her head. 

"Be nice." She warned, then paused. "Are you talking about Betty Cooper?" She asked. Peter let out a sigh. Of course, she knew. May knew everything, although Peter could never figure out how. She was just observing. 

"There's nothing going on between us if that's what you're thinking, May." Peter said pointedly. May ignored him. 

"She's pretty. She seems stubborn. She's no MJ." May said thoughtfully. Then she paused and looked at Peter, who suddenly felt sick. 

"Alright." He said, standing up and getting ready to walk away. 

"Peter, hold on." She said, making him pause. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Sit down." He hesitantly sat back down. "I know you miss her." 

"I don't miss her." He said immediately. May looked at him doubtfully but then shook her head. 

"I think what she did was wrong." May said. Peter didn't say anything to that. "When you go back to Queens are you going to see her?" 

"No. She's with Brad now, I don't want to see her. I'm just going to see Ned." He said with finality in his voice. May nodded.

"Alright." She said softly. "Peter, if there's a murderer in town going around and killing teenage boys I want you to be careful. If you're going to go out in the middle of the night, tell Spider-Man he needs to text me." May said. Peter couldn't help but smile. 

"I promise I will text you." He said, before getting up. 

"I larb you." She said, and Peter's smile widened. 

"I larb you too." He said, before leaving the kitchen and going upstairs. 

In the morning, Peter woke up to Archie throwing his backpack at him. He groaned and shoved the backpack over before sitting up and glaring at a smiling Archie. Archie only rolled his eyes in response to Peter's glare. 

"Lighten up." He said. "And get ready or we're going to be late." Peter shook his head and got up, watching as Archie left the room. In the car, Archie had begun driving but made a U-turn on their street. Peter frowned at him. 

"What are you doing?" He asked. 

"Betty's riding with us today." He said. Peter noticed how he suddenly looked protective with his words. "She can't drive herself today." Peter noticed that Betty had been either catching rides with them for the last two weeks, or she just didn't go to school. He guessed she was just too upset to drive. Or something like that. He didn't really mind though. It was like the times when her car was missing. 

It had been a bitch getting her car back. Peter literally looked everywhere, and he ended up finding it in Greenville. It felt like such a waste after Betty called him a murderer. Well, she didn't exactly know she was calling him that. But Peter had never forgotten it, and it made him mad. Suddenly he heard the back door open and close and looked back to see Betty, wearing a pair of sunglasses. 

"Hey." She mumbled so quietly Peter had to strain to hear her for a second. He only nodded at her and turned back forward in his seat. Archie was looking at her as if she was a wounded deer. Suddenly she ripped her sunglasses off. "What?" She snapped at Archie. Peter looked in the rearview mirror and noticed her red, puffy eyes. Archie only shook his head. 

"Nothing." He mumbled and turned back around. He took the car out of park, and they were off. As soon as Archie parked the car, Betty opened the door and slammed it closed behind her after she was out. 

"Easy!" Archie yelled, but she was walking away. Peter raised his eyebrows at Archie's overdramatic reaction and opened his own door, getting out. Archie was obsessed with his old truck, although the value wasn't so great. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and began walking towards the school building when Archie jogged to catch up with him, which was a surprise. Archie never walked with Peter into school. Peter looked at Archie with a questioning look. 

"What?" He said when Archie said nothing. Archie stopped walking, and so did Peter. 

"I need you to drive Betty home after school." Archie said. Peter frowned at that. 

"What?" 

"I'm going home with Veronica to study, and I'm not letting her walk home. And honestly, I don't want to leave my car here. So, drive her and yourself home." Archie held out his keys, and Peter stared at them. He looked back up at Archie and thought about his words. _Studying at Veronica's house. Yeah right,_ Peter thought. He took the keys after a few seconds and nodded. 

"Fine." He said and turned back around. 

"And Peter?" Archie asked. Peter let out a sigh and turned back around. 

"Yeah." 

"If you scratch her I'll kill you." He said, and then winked before turning around and walking towards the football field. Peter shook his head and turned back around. 

"Nice." He muttered and continued to walk. He put the keys in his pocket and then walked to his locker. He was about to open the locker when his phone rang in his pocket. He took it out and saw it was Ned. Peter let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. He answered the phone and began walking to the bathrooms instead. "Ned I told you not to call me at school." 

"But it's important!" Ned's voice said on the other end, sounding excited. Peter walked into the bathrooms and leaned against the wall. 

"What?" Peter asked. 

"Did you know Riverdale is the murder capital of New York?" 

"This is what you called to tell me? Something you could have texted?" 

"Alright, alright I'm joking. Not about the murder capital thing that's actually true." Ned said.

"Ned." Peter said sternly.

"Okay, I called to tell you that there's a new video of you online. Well, not you, but Spider-Man. Which is you. Kind of." Ned said. Peter frowned. 

"What video?"

"I just sent it to you." Ned said. Peter took the phone away from his ear and went to the new notification he had. He watched the video. It was him in his suit, and he was at the place where he found Betty's car. He heard his own voice, but thank god it was hard to hear, and the audio was messed up. He had his arms up and he was talking to the guy who allegedly stole Betty's car.

Peter may have been messing around a little. In the video, he suddenly nodded and then shot a web at the guy, so his hand was stuck to the wall. Peter got in the car and used the hot wire cables to start it. He waved enthusiastically at the thief as he drove off. Peter shook his head at himself. He pressed the phone to his ear. 

"Yeah, usually nobody sees me do those things." Peter said flatly. Ned started laughing. 

"Dude, it's hilarious!" He said. 

"No, it's not. People at my school are going to see that video. _Betty_ is going to see that video." Peter said. "Okay, it was fine when people took videos of me in Queens but this is different. I live in a small town now, Ned. My voice is in that video. I mean barely, but still." Peter groaned and pressed a hand to his forehead. 

"Okay, okay. I'll get it taken down as fast as I can." Ned promised. 

"Thanks. Text me as soon as it's down." 

"I will." Ned said. They said their goodbyes and hung up. Peter let a breath out and leaned his head against the wall. Suddenly he turned his head to the stall at the very end before it flushed. Peter watched as Reggie Mantle stepped out. He wasn't really worried about Reggie hearing his phone conversation, because Peter said nothing incriminating. 

"Who were you talking to, Parker?" He asked. Peter put his phone in his back pocket silently. He didn't answer Reggie, he only remained quiet as Reggie walked up to him. "I actually wanted to talk to you." Peter furrowed his eyebrows at that. 

"Me?" 

"Yeah." He said. "About Betty." 

"What about her?" 

"Her trash boyfriend is out of the picture now. That means she's fair game. Except there are rumors going around." Reggie looked Peter up and down. 

"Rumors? About what? Betty and I?" Peter asked. 

"What happened in that closet?" 

"We talked?" 

"Are you sure?" Reggie asked, getting in Peter's face. He had to bend a little bit to be level with Peter. 

"Yeah, I'm sure. We just talked." Peter said, taking a small step back. 

"Good." He finally said, standing straighter. Peter glanced at the exit, having an urge to leave. He looked back at Reggie. "I suggest you stay out of my way." 

"Of the bathroom, or..." Peter's voice was full of sarcasm, and Reggie didn't seem to like that. Suddenly, he shoved Peter against the wall. Peter was a little surprised, but he half expected it. 

"I'm being serious." He said. 

"So am I." Peter said flatly. "Your lack of self-control is amazing to me." Suddenly Reggie attempted to punch Peter in the face, but Peter quickly put his hand on Reggie's fist, stopping him. Reggie seemed surprised by the action. Peter gave him a good shove back, just so he could get off of the wall. Reggie stared at him in disbelief. "I don't want to fight you," Peter said warily. 

"I'm going to end you." Reggie said, and Peter quickly ducked and moved around Reggie when he came at him. Reggie turned around, again, surprised. "That's it!" He said, coming at Peter again. Peter suddenly punched Reggie in the face, probably a little harder than necessary. Reggie groaned loudly and put a hand to his nose, blood seeping through his fingers. Peter grimaced. 

"Reggie, I'm sorry." Peter said quickly "I didn't mean to." Reggie glared at Peter over his hand. "Are you okay?" Peter's voice had gone up a couple of octaves. 

"If you aren't out of my face in the next three seconds..." He muttered. Peter nodded. 

"Yeah, okay." He said, quickly walking past Reggie and out of the bathroom. He noticed people staring at him in the hallway and walked straight to his locker. He rested his forehead against his locker and closed his eyes. He decided right then he was not the biggest fan of Reggie Mantle. Even though he just broke his nose. Suddenly he felt a hand touch his shoulder. 

"Peter?" 

"What?" He snapped, turning his head. He regretted it after seeing it was Betty. She looked surprised, and a little hurt. 

"Wow, okay then." She mumbled. "I was just going to tell you since you're driving me home, it might take me a little bit to get out of school. I have to change because for eighth period I'll be practicing. Cheer." She looked up at Peter and then quickly glanced away. It didn't seem like the same Betty from the party at Cheryl's party. She seemed much more fragile and small. 

"You're practicing for cheer?" Peter asked. Betty nodded slowly. 

"Why-why wouldn't I?" She asked. Peter just shook his head. 

"No reason. That's fine, I'll be waiting." Suddenly the thought of Reggie even coming near Betty in such a fragile state made Peter sick to his stomach. It must have shown on his face because Betty was looking at him strangely. 

"Are you okay?" She asked. He nodded. 

"Yeah." He saw Reggie at the corner of his eye, at the end of the hall, glaring at him. He ignored him. 

"Okay... See you in physics, Peter." Betty said, before turning and walking away. Peter watched her walk away and then let out a sigh, continuing to rest his forehead on his locker. He felt his phone go vibrate in his pocket, and he pulled it out. 

_Ned Leeds: All gone :) -Guy in the Chair._

Peter smiled and closed his eyes, shaking his head. In Physics, Betty wasn't there for the whole period. Peter tried not to think anything of it. They were usually partners for everything, and they were working on a new project that week. Peter just worked on it by himself that class period with no problem. 

After school, he was walking to the student parking lot, past the football field. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Reggie, talking to Betty. She was still in her cheer uniform, and he was in his football gear. Betty was giving him a fake, tight-lipped smile, and Reggie was the one talking. Peter stood there, not moving. He just watched them. He didn't start walking again until Betty was walking away from Reggie, towards the building. Only then, did he continue walking to the student parking lot. 

He sat in the car, waiting for her to come out. He was on his phone, looking at his old school's website out of curiosity. It had only been a month, but he wanted to see if anything had changed. His spot on the Decathlon team had been taken by Brad Davis. Peter literally grimaced when he looked at the picture, Brad's arm around MJ's shoulders, along with the other Decathlon members. 

He was torn out of his thoughts when he heard the door open and looked to see Betty getting in the car. She tossed her bag in the back, and then shut the door behind her, putting her seatbelt on. She only looked at Peter when she was settled. He hadn't really realized he was staring. She narrowed her eyes. 

"What?" She asked, clipping the word. He shook his head. 

"Nothing." He said, before looking away from her and starting the engine. He pulled out of the parking lot and started towards their houses. He looked over at Betty every few seconds, only to see her arms were crossed over her stomach and she was looking out her window. "Uh, how was your day?" He eventually asked. 

"Fine." 

"You weren't in Physics." 

"Yup." 

"Why?" 

"I didn't feel like going." She said dismissively. 

"I worked on our project." Peter said, glancing at her and then back at the road. 

"Okay." 

"Uh... How was practice?" 

"Peter." Betty said, taking a deep breath and looking at him. 

"Yeah?" 

"Stop talking." She said. Peter nodded, his lips tightly pressed together. 

"Yeah." He mumbled. Suddenly Betty started giggling, and Peter looked at her in surprise. She held her stomach as she continued to laugh. 

"Watch the road, you dork!" She snapped, her voice full of humor. Peter quickly looked back at the road. Betty continued to laugh uncontrollably, and Peter laughed nervously. Suddenly her laughing began to sound like sobbing and Peter looked at Betty, alarmed. She wasn't laughing anymore. She was crying. He glanced between her and the road in front of him, unsure what to do. 

"Betty?" He asked, his voice rising. She ignored him, covering her face with her hands as she cried. After a few seconds of hesitation, Peter pulled the car over. 

"He's dead." She whispered. Peter looked at her, the panic rising in his chest. If it was one thing that freaked him out, it was crying girls. "He's dead. It's happening again. Not again. Not again." Betty continued to cry. Her crying was becoming more silent. 

"Betty, please stop crying. Don't cry." Peter pleaded. It was as if she hadn't heard him. Peter rubbed the back of his neck and let out a long sigh. 

"He's dead." She repeated. "It's happening again." Suddenly, Peter got out of the car and shut the door behind him. Betty stared at the place he had been seconds ago as if she couldn't believe it. She jumped when her door opened, and Peter was standing there. The tears were still streaming down her face. She stared at Peter as if she had no idea who he was. 

"Hey, you stopped crying." He said, his voice full of triumph. Suddenly Betty began to cry again, and Peter's eyes widened. 

"Betty-" He was cut off when suddenly Betty wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. He felt the warm wetness of her tears on his shoulder. He hesitated, before wrapping his arms around her and holding her. He stood there silently, letting her cry. They were both there in that position until Betty's crying came to a stop. After what felt like ten minutes, she pulled away and looked at him. Her eyes were puffy and her nose red. Peter couldn't help but notice how green her eyes looked, and how blonde her hair was.

If he hadn't expected the hug, he definitely hadn't expected what came next. Suddenly Betty kissed him, shocking Peter. For a second, he kissed her back. But then he realized how messed up that was, and pushed her gently on the shoulders. He stared at her, eyebrows raised. Betty suddenly looked panicked. 

"I didn't mean to do that." She said quickly. 

"It's okay." Peter said calmly. 

"No, it's not. It's not okay-"

"Betty really, it's fine." Peter said, quickly looking away from her. 

"Why did I do that?" Betty mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut. 

"I'm just going to take you home now, okay?" Peter said gently.

"Maybe I should walk." She said hesitantly. 

"You are not walking." Peter said. Betty was surprised by how firm his tone was. She silently nodded and moved her legs so they were back in the car. Peter shut her door and walked back around to his side. The ride back was silent and awkward. When he pulled up in front of Betty's house, she hesitated before opening her door. Suddenly her whole mood changed and the flustered, small girl from before was gone. 

"If you tell anybody that I kissed you, I swear I will kill you. Do you understand?" She asked, glaring at him. Peter only nodded silently. "Good." She snapped before getting out and slamming the door shut. Peter watched as she walked up her path to the front door. Then her brother came out and smiled when he saw her. 

"Hey, Betts-" 

"Oh, screw you, Charles." She snapped, before walking past him and into the house, slamming the door behind her. Charles frowned and then raised his eyebrows. 

"Alright then." He mumbled. He saw Peter and then waved with a smile. Peter waved back, before pulling forward in front of the Andrews' house. He got out of the car, and then looked at Charles who was still staring at him. 

"Hey, Pete." Charles said. Peter forced himself not to wince at the name. He didn't like when people called him that. It reminded him of Liz Allen. Or more, her father. 

"It's just Peter, actually." Peter said politely. Charles nodded. 

"Sorry. Any idea what's wrong with my sister?" He asked. Peter hesitated. 

"I think that's something you should ask her." He said. Charles nodded and Peter went up the steps, walking into the house. He froze when he heard the shouting. 

"You should see the way they look at me." May snapped. 

"It just takes some getting used to." Fred said, his voice raised but unusually calm. 

"No, this wouldn't be happening if we were back in Queens." May shot back. 

"You want Archie and I to move into your two-bedroom apartment?" Fred asked. 

"We could have found something better. In Queens." May said. Peter suddenly felt weird, hearing May argue with someone Peter considered a stranger. Peter quietly began to walk up the stairs and winced when they creaked. He froze, his eyes shut. 

"Archie?" Fred called. Peter let out a sigh and walked back down the stairs, walking into the living room. May seemed to relax when she saw Peter. Fred smiled warmly. Peter remembered the first time he met the man. Fred was genuinely a good person, in Peter's opinion. He just had no intention of really getting to know him. 

"Oh, Peter." May said softly. "I thought you would be home a little later." 

"I drove Archie's truck home. He had practice and he's going to Veronica's. I also drove Betty home." Peter explained quietly. Fred nodded. 

"Okay, honey. Going out later?" May asked. Peter looked at her, and he knew what she was really asking. _Are you going on patrol tonight?_

"No." Peter said. May smiled. 

"Okay. Go do your homework, or whatever it is you do." She said. Peter smiled and nodded. He turned around and walked up the stairs. The rest of the day, he couldn't help but think about that kiss. And how quickly Betty switched up on him. He wondered what would have happened if he didn't stop it. It would have been taking advantage of her, and he would never do that. 

That night, he had another nightmare. This time, he was back on that ship. Going up, and up, and up. He found it harder to breathe every second, and he ripped his mask off. He gasped for air, but he knew the ship was leaving the atmosphere. He let go, but he knew this time, there would be no metal suit to catch him. There was darkness. 

"Peter." A familiar voice said. He knew whose voice it was, but he didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to see him. "Wake up. Come on, kid. Wake up." Peter shook his head. He wasn't going to open his eyes. "Open your eyes." 

"No." Peter said. 

"I said open your eyes. Now." The voice said, firmly. Peter took a deep breath, before opening his eyes. Suddenly it felt like the wind got knocked out of him. Half of Tony's face was gone. The flesh was gone. He was wearing his iron suit. Peter yelled out and closed his eyes tightly again. 

"Peter, wake up!" A different voice shouted. Peter woke up, gasping for air. "Let me go!" Archie yelled. Peter realized that he had Archie in a headlock, and he was choking him. He quickly let Archie go and watched as Archie scrambled away gasping for air. 

"Archie I'm so sorry." Peter said quickly. "Are you okay?" It was dark, and Archie was wearing the same clothes he wore to school. He must have just gotten back from Veronica's. Archie coughed a few times before nodding. 

"I'm fine." 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Peter said apologetically. 

"Who's Tony?" Archie asked once he caught his breath. Peter looked at him in surprise, and then looked away. 

"Just an old friend." He mumbled. 

"Did you watch him die?" Archie asked, surprising Peter again. "Sorry, I just assumed he died. Because of the things you were saying." Peter nodded. 

"Yeah... I did." Peter admitted. Archie nodded. 

"I know you were in the city during... Everything. The war, and the attacks. I'm sorry you had to go through that, Peter." Archie said. Peter rubbed his hands over his face. 

"It's fine." He mumbled. "Go to sleep, Archie." Archie got up from the floor and grabbed some clothes before going into the bathroom. Peter laid back in bed and stared at the ceiling. Suddenly the thought of kissing Betty popped into his mind, and he rolled his eyes before grabbing his pillow and shoving it into his face. Thinking about it too much brought a warm feeling in his groin and Peter shook his head. 

"Nope." He mumbled, turning on his stomach and holding the pillow over the back of his head. Eventually, the feeling went away. By then Archie was asleep across the room. Peter honestly had no idea what May and Fred were thinking when they stuck the two teenage boys in the same room. Every now and then Archie would go to the downstairs bathroom for long periods of time, and Peter knew what he did. Archie never used the bathroom they shared for that. Peter was extremely thankful. 

One time he walked in on Archie and Veronica, having sex. Peter didn't see anything too traumatizing, but since then he and Archie had an unspoken agreement. Archie would go to Veronica's house. They never brought up that matter ever again.

It wasn't until weeks later, in the middle of November that Archie even brought up the idea of a girl. Peter and Betty talked every so often. Mostly in Physics, but he wouldn't call them friends. Not after the kiss. She distanced herself from him. A lot. But he wasn't complaining. If they hung out outside of school, it was probably because Archie forced Peter to come with them somewhere. 

"Oh, Parker." Archie said, sitting down next to Peter at the lunch table. Peter hadn't had lunch with the group in a while. He usually liked to tool around with his web-shooters. He was trying out new things. Nothing very permanent. 

"What?" Peter mumbled. He was doing Calculus homework. He lazily looked at Archie. Veronica and Cheryl were bickering across from them, and Betty was telling Kevin about some incident that happened with her brother the night before. 

"You've been in Riverdale for almost three months. You know what time it is?" Archie asked enthusiastically. Betty and Kevin quieted down and looked at Archie. Peter let out a sigh. 

"What time is it, Archie?" He asked. 

"Time for Archie to get Peter a girlfriend." Archie said excitedly. Peter was unamused. 

"No." He said flatly. 

"Yup. And I already have someone in mind." 

"No." Peter repeated. 

"Yes. You're killing me, Parker. It's time for a change. I'm sick of you being known for the school's gigolo." Archie said. Peter choked on the water he was drinking and looked at Archie as if he was a madman. 

"I'm not a gigolo." Peter said defensively. 

"People think you're a gigolo." Archie said dismissively. 

"What? No way. I'm not a gigolo." Peter looked at Betty and Kevin. "Do people really think I'm a gigolo?" Betty and Kevin both hesitated before answering. Peter stared at them incredulously. "You're joking." 

"Nobody thinks you're a gigolo." Betty finally said, glaring at Archie. "You just... Disappear a lot. At inconvenient times. It's a little weird." Betty said honestly. 

"I think you're a male prostitute." Kevin said flatly. Betty rolled her eyes and shook her head. Peter frowned at Kevin who shrugged. "Hey, I'm honest." He said, putting his hands up defensively. 

"I'm not a male prostitute." Peter grumbled. 

"We know you're not." Betty said, giving Kevin a playful shove. 

"Seriously, where do you go?" Archie asked. He then looked at Betty and Kevin. "He sometimes leaves at night and comes back at four in the morning. He thinks I'm sleeping. It's mostly on the weekends, though. He does it on weekdays too." Peter suddenly glared at Archie, as if he just said something he wasn't supposed to. Betty observed Peter. 

"Where do you go?" Betty asked. Peter didn't move. He continued to glare at Archie and finally looked at Betty. His face softened when he looked at her. 

"You got me. I'm a drug dealer." Peter said sarcastically. Betty rolled her eyes at that. 

"Don't say that. The Ghoulies have super hearing." Kevin said humorously. "They'll try to recruit you." 

"Don't remind him how fucked up our town is." Veronica chimed in. Then her gaze wandered, and she looked at Betty nervously. Peter watched as Betty followed Veronica's gaze towards the front of the cafeteria. Jughead had just walked in. The night after the party, he kind of disappeared. He was rarely ever at school anymore. Jughead didn't even glance at their table. He walked past to the table that Sweet Pea, Peaches, and Toni were sitting at. Betty suddenly looked like the small, fragile girl in Archie's car. 

"I have to get something from my car." Betty mumbled, before standing up and walking fast out of the cafeteria. Peter stood up, and Archie frowned at him. Betty was already gone. Peter thought best of it and sat back down. Archie looked between Peter and the place where Betty had just disappeared. He opened his mouth, and Peter quickly cut him off. 

"Don't say something stupid." Peter said quickly. Archie narrowed his eyes at Peter and then shook his head. 

"I wasn't going to say anything." He eventually said. His eyes said something different, but he said nothing after that. Peter was thankful. The rest of the lunch, Archie left Peter alone. Peter couldn't stop thinking about Betty. She never came back to lunch. In the car, after school, Peter was still thinking about Betty. He was looking out his window, watching the houses go by. 

"You know you can take medication, right?" Archie suddenly said. Peter looked at him and furrowed his brows. 

"Medication for what?" He asked. 

"Your PTSD." Archie said simply. Peter then raised his eyebrows. 

"I don't-I do not have PTSD." Peter said defensively. 

"I'm pretty sure being in the center of an alien attack is PTSD worthy." Archie said. 

"I'm not _traumatized,_ Archie." Peter said. 

"What about the nightmares?" Archie asked, glancing at Peter and then at the road. Peter decided to ignore that. He didn't feel like being reminded of his nightmares at the moment. 

"You aren't supposed to tell anybody I leave the house at night." Peter suddenly said. Archie chuckled slightly at that. 

"No, seriously man where do you go? Do you drive three hours to Queens every night? I have to know." Archie said. 

"Yeah, I steal May's beaten up car, drive three hours to queens, see my friends have a good time for one hour before driving another three hours back to Riverdale." Peter said, his voice full of sarcasm. Archie rolled his eyes. 

"Come on. I won't tell anyone." He prompted. Peter looked out his window blankly. 

"I don't go anywhere." He finally said. "I just, walk around a little. Maybe I'll go to Pop's if it's open. I just distract myself so I don't fall asleep. For as long as I can. But I have to sleep eventually." It was a lie of course. But it was also half true. Peter didn't like going to sleep because of the dreams, but he couldn't tell Archie he was Spider-Man. He didn't trust Archie not to open his mouth. Archie nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. 

"Alright. I believe you." He said quietly. It was silent for a few minutes. "You know, if you grew up here, and we didn't know each other, I would never talk to you. Never in my life." Archie said. Peter looked at Archie incredulously. 

"Wow, thanks." He said, his voice full of deadpan. 

"I don't mean it as an insult." Archie said a smile on his face. "You read books, and you know things I will never learn in my entire life. Hell, you've met Tony Stark. I mean-" 

"Wait." Peter said, cutting Archie off. Archie looked at him, confused. "How did you know about that?" 

"Oh. Uh, May was bragging about your internship with him. What did you do anyway? Did he have any aliens just hanging out in a cage in his house?" Archie asked. Peter looked away from Archie and rolled his eyes. 

"No, you idiot." Peter said although he was smiling. Archie didn't seem offended. 

"Is he the same Tony in your nightmares?" Archie asked. Peter's smile faded. "It must have been pretty hard when he died. I mean, were you guys close?" Archie's words were beginning not to register. They began to just fade in the background. Peter stared straight in front of him, his nostrils flaring. He couldn't stop seeing the images. The images of Tony lying there, against that huge piece of debris, dying. He was _dying._ He heard the voices in his head. The sounds of explosions. He felt the cold metal of that stupid gauntlet in his hands. "Peter?" Archie's voice said, far away. 

"Stop the car." Peter said, so quietly that Archie had to strain to hear. Peter was starting to breathe harder, through his nose. His chest rising and falling quickly. 

"What?" Archie said. 

"I said stop the car!" Peter yelled, snapping his head towards Archie. Suddenly, Archie pressed on the brakes. He looked at Peter, bewildered. 

"What? What's going on?" He asked. Peter opened his door without answering, getting out of the car. "Peter!" Archie called, doing the same. Peter just kept walking, down the street. His fists were bunched by his sides, and his nostrils were still flaring. "Peter, where are you going? Get in the car." He said. Peter ignored him and kept walking. Archie didn't run over to him or do anything to stop him. He just let him go. 


	6. The Return

Betty was sitting at home, doing some homework when she heard the doorbell ring. She ignored it, thinking either her parents, or anybody else who was home would get it. She continued to take notes, looking between her laptop screen and her notebook, when the doorbell rang again. She rolled her eyes and then got up, padding down the stairs, and opening the door. She paused when she saw a younger-looking woman. She had long dark brown hair that stopped at the waist and round big glasses. She was beautiful. She looked as if she was in her thirties, but if you looked closer you could tell she was older than that. She had such a kind smile. She smiled at Betty with that kind smile. 

"Oh, hello. You must be... Betty? I'm sorry, Peter doesn't tell me anything these days. It's usually Archie who willingly gives me the gossip." She said, laughing lightly. Betty stared at her, frozen. 

"Are you, May Parker?" She asked slowly. May nodded quickly. 

"Yes!" She said. "Ah, so you have heard of me. Good things I hope." Betty didn't say anything, continuing to stare at the woman. She shook herself and silently scolded herself. 

"I'm sorry, I'm being so rude. Would you like to come in? I'm not really sure where everyone is, but I'm here." Betty said. The sun was beginning to set. May nodded. 

"I would love to." She said. When Betty stepped aside, she walked in, and Betty lead her to the dining room where they sat opposite each other at the table. 

"Do you want water, or tea, or anything?" Betty asked. May shook her head. 

"I'm alright, hun. I'm actually here about Peter." She said. Betty nodded. 

"Oh, really? We aren't really close. I don't talk to him." Betty said flatly. It came out sounding rude, but she only said it that way because the pure mention of Peter's name, reminded her of that stupid kiss. She shut her eyes and then opened them again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" She stopped when she saw May was laughing lightly. 

"It's alright, hun. Whatever he did to you, I'm sure didn't mean it. If I know anything, I know that my nephew does not have a way with words. No, I'm here because I haven't seen him in two days. Nobody has." May said. Betty stiffened a bit. 

"What?" 

"That was my reaction when Archie told me what happened. Archie brought up a more sensitive topic, and Peter disappeared. This was Tuesday." May explained. Betty knitted her eyebrows. 

"Sensitive topic?" She asked. May ignored her question. 

"Have you seen him? I know you two spend a lot of time together." May said. Betty raised her eyebrows at this. 

"I wouldn't say that." Betty said uneasily. "We only hang out because of Archie." She said honestly. 

"I'm sure that's not entirely true." May said, her voice reasonable. 

"Mrs. Parker, with all due respect, Peter and I aren't friends. We don't really get along." Betty said, although what she really meant was, she was usually the one yelling at him for something ridiculous. Suddenly, all the humor in May's face had left, and she looked ten times older. She looked exhausted and worried. She looked at Betty. 

"If you see him, could you please let me know?" She asked. Betty smiled kindly and nodded. 

"Of course. I'm sure he's fine." Betty said. May nodded. 

"Yeah. I just wish..." She took a deep breath and looked up. "I wish he would stop putting himself in bad situations." She whispered. Betty frowned at that. She was about to ask May what she meant when May began to stand up. Betty also stood up. "It was so nice to meet you, Betty. And please never call me Mrs. Parker ever again, my god. Call me May." Betty laughed lightly and nodded. 

"Well alright then." She said, walking her over to the door. After May left, Betty thought about some of the things she had said. She overall seemed like a very nice woman. Betty felt bad for her. She rolled her eyes and took her phone out of her pocket, before calling Peter. She waited for a few seconds. She got his voicemail. 

"Hey it's Peter..." She took the phone away from her ear and pointed the microphone towards her mouth. 

"Go home!" She yelled, before ending it. She let out a sigh and then walked up the stairs. It was a few hours later when she went to take out the trash, on the side of the house. She walked out the side door from the kitchen and put the trash bag in the can. That was when she heard the footsteps. She turned around and froze. It was Peter. He had one backpack strap hung over his shoulder, his hair was a mess of brown curls, and he looked exhausted. Betty furrowed her eyebrows at the sight. 

"Peter?" She called. He looked at her so fast, his eyes wide, like he had expected her to be a monster. Betty raised her eyebrows at the reaction. He seemed to relax when he saw it was her. Betty saw his face in the light. One of his eyes was swollen, a rim of purple and pink around it. His lip was also split open. Betty stared at him, shocked. 

"Hey." He breathed. He let out a sigh and walked closer. She noticed he was holding his side with the arm that wasn't holding his backpack strap. Betty put a hand over her mouth. 

"Oh my god." She said. "What happened to you?" He looked away from her. "Peter, what did you do?" She asked, a little louder. 

"Don't worry about it. I was just... I went to Queens, alright? I'm back now." He said as if it was nothing. 

"You went to _Queens?_ " She asked, her voice rising. "What, did you walk? Who kicked your ass on the way? You look awful." He scoffed and shook his head. 

"Why do you care?" He asked, the tone in his voice surprising her a little. He seemed to feel guilty because he recoiled and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He looked so on guard. Jumpy. Betty felt a pit in her gut. She didn't get along with Peter, and she wasn't his biggest fan in Riverdale, but it hurt her to see him like that. It probably would have hurt her to see anyone like that. 

"I can't believe you went to Queens without telling anyone for a day." Betty said slowly. "Your aunt was worried." Peter dragged a hand through his messy hair. It was unkempt and had no product in it to keep it from curling up. 

"Don't tell her." He said and looked Betty straight in the eyes. Betty noticed, that Peter could be angry, or have the deadliest look on his face. And still, his eyes would look so kind, and gentle. "Please." Betty nodded.

"I won't tell." She said quietly. "Where did you stay?" He bit his lip, and Betty watched as his Adam's apple went up and down. 

"I just... I needed to figure some stuff out. I stayed with a friend." He said. Betty figured that was all she was going to get. "Goodnight Betty." He said, and without a second glance, he went into the house. Betty stayed outside for a moment longer, staring at the place he was in before. She eventually shook her head and went back inside. 

The next day, Betty woke up thinking the night before was a dream. She eventually realized it wasn't a dream, and thought it was so odd. She wanted to know why Peter looked so beaten up, but she knew that if she would ask, she would only get a nervous, blank stare in return. Then Peter would stutter, and stumble with his words until the conversation was changed. So, she didn't ask. So, she decided, she wouldn't take her eyes off Peter Parker for the next two weeks. Until he gave her some answers. 

Betty opened up the back door to Archie's truck and then hopped into the back. Peter whipped around in the passenger's seat and looked at her. In the broad daylight, Betty could see his face so much better. His eye looked like it had swollen even more.

"What's she doing here?" He asked. 

"I asked Archie if I could ride with you guys. He said yes." Betty said. Peter stared at her a second longer, before turning back around in his seat. "You have a problem with that, Parker?" Betty asked, leaning forward so she was in between their seats. 

"Nope." Peter said, without looking at her. He put on a pair of sunglasses, probably to hide his eye. Betty rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat. When they got to school, Peter was the first to get out of the car, putting his backpack on, and walking away from Betty and Archie. Betty quickly caught up with him. 

"You look stupid in those shades." Betty commented. 

"Thanks." Peter said flatly. 

"So, what did you tell everyone when you got home last night?" Betty asked. 

"That I was spending the night at a friend's house." Peter said. 

"You don't have any friends." Betty said, matter-of-factly. 

"You're full of compliments today." Peter said cheerily. 

"Okay, that wasn't meant to be an insult, but it's true. Did you give them a name?" 

"May was just happy I was home, and Archie didn't care." 

"Archie cares about you, you know." Betty said, trying to keep up with Peter. He was walking so fast, and he didn't even seem to be realizing it. Suddenly he stopped walking and turned towards her, taking the sunglasses off. Betty stopped walking. 

"What do you want?" He asked. 

"What?" 

"You're following me. It's weird." 

"How did you get the black eye? And the cuts? And what's wrong with-" Betty poked him in the side, and Peter quickly took a step back, his hand flying to his side. He let out a groan. Betty stared at him, surprised. "I didn't even do anything, what's wrong with you?" 

"It's just a couple cracked ribs." He said, grimacing and holding his side still. Betty's eyes widened. 

"I'm sorry, a couple cracked ribs? What the hell, Peter you need to get to a hospital now." She said, getting her phone out. 

"Hey, no hospitals." He said quickly. Betty frowned at him. "It will heal in a couple of days." 

"Stuff like that doesn't just heal, Peter. You need medicine, a doctor. The hospital." She said, seriously. He didn't look worried at all. 

"And I'm telling you that I'll be fine. No hospitals. Alright?" He turned back around, walking towards the school. Betty watched, confused, and even a little bit scared. She fumed, standing in that spot. 

"I will find out your secret, Peter Parker." She muttered, before whipping back around and walking away. 

"What are we doing here?" Kevin asked. Betty had dragged him to the computer lab with him. She had been typing furiously on one of the computers. 

"Who cracks a few ribs one night, and goes to school the next? I mean he was standing, walking Kev. Walking just fine. No problem. It's impossible." She said. Kevin raised an eyebrow. 

"Betts, you're being paranoid." He said calmly. "The human body is a miraculous thing. Haven't you heard of people being cured of cancer out of nowhere?" 

"This isn't cancer, Kevin! This is a teenage boy who's idea of fun is getting beat up on the weekends!" Betty said. Kevin laughed at that. 

"We don't know what he does. Maybe he's a drug dealer. I mean hey, I do not condone the dealing of illegal things, but something tells me it's better than what you're thinking." He said, shrugging. Betty ignored him. 

"Hold on." She mumbled. She was on his old school website. Kevin noticed the computer screen and his eyes widened. 

"Betty Cooper, this is an invasion of privacy!" He scolded. 

"It's a public website." She mumbled back. 

"No. I am not okay with this. What are you doing, Betty?" He asked. Betty ignored him and continued to click around. She froze when she saw a picture on the board from a few years ago. 

"Bingo." She whispered. "Kevin, look!" He looked at the screen. It was a picture of a group of kids, all smiling and holding a trophy. Kevin raised an eyebrow when he just barely recognized one of them. 

"It's... Peter." He said softly. "How long ago was this? He looks so different." Peter was in the middle of the group of kids, and he did in fact, look different. He was much more skinny and small, and he was wearing thick-rimmed black glasses. 

"His freshman year." Betty answered. 

"Alright, so three years ago. He peaked in high school. Good for him." Kevin said, enthusiastically. Betty glared at him. 

"Okay, then how do you explain this?" She asked, switching the photos. The next photo had mostly the same group of people, with a few exceptions. Peter looked as he did that very day. He looked taller, and a little bulkier, with no glasses. "This is his Sophomore year." She said. Kevin looked like he wasn't buying it. 

"A lot can happen in a year." He said. 

"Are you even listening to me?" She asked, her voice rising. "Look at him, Kev! He looks like a completely different person. It's not possible." 

"Steroids?" Kevin asked, then he gasped. "Peter's on steroids. Oh, that explains a lot." 

"This isn't a joke." Betty said seriously. Kevin let out a sigh and looked back at the picture. Betty noticed one girl, with mocha skin and frizzy, curly hair next to Peter. Peter wasn't looking at her, he was looking at a chunky Filipino boy next to him. They were smiling at each other. Betty was focused on the girl, though. She was looking at Peter with such fondness. She was beautiful. "Well, I found the ex-girlfriend," Betty mumbled. 

"Okay, that's enough." Kevin said, shutting down the computer. Betty glared at him and stood up. Kevin stood up with her. 

"What are you doing?" She yelled. 

"No, what are _you_ doing?" He shot back. 

"I'm doing research." She said, matter-of-factly. 

"Or maybe you're trying to distract yourself from the fact your boyfriend cheated on you." Kevin said, making Betty froze. She looked at him. 

"What?" 

"Listen, I think you like Peter. Maybe. And your last boyfriend, who you thought loved you for two years, slept with somebody else. So now, you're trying to prove that the guy you like is a bad person when really, he's a really good guy." Kevin said. Betty stared at him incredulously. 

"I do not like Peter!" She yelled. "God every time I see his stupid face, I just want to punch it! He's annoying, and he reminds me of a lost puppy. Okay? I know I'm right about this. There is something wrong about him-" 

"Do you want to know what Archie told me?" Kevin asked, cutting her off. She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Peter's uncle died at the beginning of his Sophomore year. He was shot and killed, right in front of Peter." Suddenly, Betty's expression fell, and her arms dropped to her sides. "It goes right with your timeline, right? Maybe that's why he decided to change himself so much. You never thought to look for a reasonable explanation, you just want to assume everyone is evil and out to get you. And Betty, I don't blame you. That's what happens when you grow up in Riverdale. I feel bad for you. Really." He said, before heading towards the door. 

"Kevin, wait." Betty said, but he had left the computer lab. She closed her eyes and sat back down in the chair she had been sitting in. She buried her face in her hands and let out a sigh. Guilt was clenching her gut. Kevin was right. She rolled her eyes at herself. "Get over yourself, Betty." She said and grabbed her backpack. She left the computer lab.

In second period, they had another partner project. Betty immediately went over to the seat next to Peter. When Peter saw her, he let out a sigh and buried his face in his arms on the table. Betty rolled her eyes at the gesture. 

"Okay, I was right and you were wrong." She said. He came back up and frowned. 

"About what?" 

"I don't know, whether you're a secret illegal boxer in some underground club, getting your ass kicked every night, or if you are genuinely just the unluckiest guy in the world. But it's none of my business, right?" She said. Peter stared at her silently for a moment, before smiling arrogantly. 

"You should see the other guys." He said, making Betty begin to laugh. Although, the look in his eyes made her a bit uneasy. It was if he wasn't joking at all, and being completely serious. Betty took that as part of the joke. She shook her head, remembering Kevin's words. 

"Anyway," She said. "You're smart, and I suck at physics. So, we're partners." She said. Peter nodded. 

"Yeah, you do suck at physics." He said, earning a glare from Betty. "Joking." He said, causing her to shake her head. 

"The next time you decide to skip town, please tell your aunt." Betty said seriously. Peter looked at her, looking a little surprised. "If either of my parents cared about me as much as she cared about you, I'd be the luckiest girl in the world." She said, shrugging. Peter looked away, obviously uncomfortable by the conversation. Betty cleared her throat and shook her head. "Should we get started?" 

"Yeah." Peter said softly, looking at the worksheet. 

The rest of the day had been slow. Betty knew Kevin was mad at her. She still thought the whole situation was weird, of course. But Kevin had been right. She was being weird, and paranoid, and it wasn't her place. Although he didn't fully understand. He didn't know that Peter had skipped down for two days. She did. She was the only one who knew. Although, she wasn't about to tell anyone. She was keen on keeping promises. But she made a pact with herself. She would leave Peter alone and stop snooping. She didn't really like him, and they didn't always get along, but she would stop asking questions. 

After school, she was walking back to Archie's car, to the school parking lot, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned, to see it was Reggie, towering over her. She let out a short breath and smiled. 

"Oh, hey Reg." She said. He smiled down at her. 

"Hey, Betts." He said. 

"What's up?" She asked. 

"Are you going to homecoming?" He asked. Betty raised her eyebrows. This surprised her. She didn't want to get the wrong idea, although it seemed weird that Reggie of all people was standing there, asking her if she was going to homecoming. 

"Uh, I'm not sure." She said honestly. "I'm a senior, and I've been to homecoming three times already. Plus, there's prom. And... I just broke up with Jughead." 

"Oh, well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to be my date." Reggie said. Betty was taken aback by this. She looked over at Reggie's car. Both Peter and Archie were staring at them, leaning against the car. Betty's eyes widened in embarrassment at the sight. Peter had his arms crossed over his chest, and he was staring at Reggie, looking a little intimidating. Archie looked extremely concerned, looking between the two. He looked baffled. Betty quickly looked away from them. 

"Uh, Reggie it's not really a good time." Betty whispered. Reggie glanced over where Betty had been looking, and Betty watched as Reggie's gaze fixated on Peter. His face turned into a glare. He suddenly looked pissed off. Betty glanced between the two, a little confused. Peter was still staring at Reggie, leaning against the car, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't glaring at Reggie, he was just looking, in a way, he might look at a bug. Or maybe... Even in a protective way. This shocked Betty. She looked back at Reggie. 

"Reg?" She asked. He then looked at her, as if he remembered she was standing there. 

"Oh, yeah. That's fine. Of course. Just let me know if you change your mind. Although, I really want to hang out with you sometime. Just text me whenever. You have my number." He said, before glancing back at Peter, and then walking away towards the football field. Betty let out a breath and walked over to the car. 

"Could guy guys be any more creepy?" She asked as she got into the car. 

"What is Reggie Mantle doing asking you to homecoming?" Archie asked, both the boys getting into the front of the car. 

"It's not really any of your business, Arch." Betty said. 

"Reggie's my best friend." 

"I thought Jughead was your best friend." Betty said, warily. Archie was silent for a moment. Peter only listened, silently. 

"Betts, I would never choose sides on any other circumstances. But what Jughead did... I can't be friends with somebody like that. It's not even that. He's different. I've heard rumors of what he's doing with the Serpents now." Archie said, turning on the engine. Betty raised an eyebrow. 

"What's he doing?" 

"They're just rumors. Don't go Nancy Drew on me. Let's just drop it." Archie said, his tone serious. Betty sat back in her seat. She knew Archie wasn't going to tell her. There was a time when Betty had romantic thoughts about Archie. When she was much younger. But nowadays, he was more of a brother to her. The romantic thoughts had completely dissipated after Jughead. Being rejected also played a part. 

"What about you? What's going on between you and Reggie?" Betty asked Peter. Archie glanced at Peter and then back at the road. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Peter said, looking out the window distantly. 

"You guys were mentally shooting daggers at each other." Betty said. 

"We have a difference of opinions." Peter said flatly. "I think I also pissed him off." He mumbled the last part. 

"What did you do?" Archie asked. Peter was silent for a moment, probably considering whether he should tell them whatever happened or not. 

"I broke his nose." He finally said, as if it was nothing. Betty raised her eyebrows, and Archie's jaw dropped. 

"You broke his nose?" He asked, completely surprised. 

"I didn't mean to." He said, looking at Archie defensively. 

"You accidentally broke Reggie Mantle's nose?" Betty asked, her voice full of doubt. It was a little strange. When Reggie got into fights, he never lost. He was kind of the alpha male of the school, which sounded really stupid in Betty's head, but in a way it was true. 

"Look, just try not to let that get around." Peter said. "I plan to stay invisible until graduation." Betty furrowed her eyebrows at that. She wasn't sure why Peter liked being so unnoticed all the time. 

"Whatever, man. You going to the bonfire in two weeks?" Archie asked. Peter looked back out the window distantly. 

"Probably not." He said dismissively. 

"Do you want another lecture from Veronica?" Archie asked. 

"Ha. Funny." Peter said sarcastically. 

"You know you don't have to get so nervous every time she comes over. I promise, what happened last time will not happen again." Archie said. A look of disgust crossed Peter's face, and Betty glanced between them. 

"What happened?" She asked. 

"Oh, Peter walked in while we were-" 

"Ah!" Peter yelled, cutting him off. "No. No, no-no. Do not bring that up." His voice began doing that thing when he got nervous, where it got a little more high-pitched and boyish. Betty burst out into a fit of laughter. 

"That's great!" She said, holding her stomach. Archie smiled at Peter, who shook his head and looked out his window. 

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad-" Archie began.

"Not another word." Peter said. Archie laughed and rolled his eyes. Suddenly, in the rear-view mirror, Betty watched as the laughter and light left Archie's eyes as if he came to a realization. 

"Betty." He said. "Tomorrow is Fangs's funeral." He whispered. Betty's smile faded, and she watched as Peter glanced at her through the rear-view mirror and then back out the window. Betty nodded slowly. 

"Yeah." She mumbled. "Are you going?" Betty asked Peter. 

"No." He said quietly. "I didn't know him." 

"If I have to go, you're going." Archie said, his voice almost sounding threatening. Peter stared at Archie incredulously. 

"Seriously?" He asked. Archie nodded. 

"Yes. A lot of kids from school are going to be there. My dad can't come, he has work. Ronnie will take us." Archie then looked at Betty from the rear-view mirror. "How are you getting there?" He asked. 

"Charles is driving me. Apparently, he's security at the funeral. You know, since the murderer hasn't been caught. I'll meet you there." She said, dismissively. She knew Jughead would be there, and she dreaded it. But she had to be strong. Fangs was her friend. "Just... Be nice, alright? I know you and the Serpents have your differences but no fights. Fangs don't deserve that." 

"Who's funding this thing anyway? I mean, no offense to Fangs but... He's an orphan." Archie said. Peter silently listened to the conversation, absorbing the information. Betty didn't notice how deep in thought he was. 

"Fp." Betty said. Her mother had told her. Archie nodded. 

"Lovely." He muttered. he pulled up in front of Betty's house, and Betty smiled softly. 

"Later, boys." She said, hopping out of the car with her backpack, and walking into her house. 

The next day, it was a Saturday. The funeral was supposed to start moderately early, and it was depressing when Betty realized she had so many black dresses to choose from. All dresses bought for funerals. It was just another reminder, that too many people died for such a small town. It made her think of Peter. She wondered what it was like, having so many people die only a few miles from you, all the time, and not having to grieve about it. Of course, it was a question she would never ask aloud. 

She had settled for a plain black dress that stopped at her knees and had thin straps that went over her shoulder. She curled her hair, letting it stay down on her shoulders. Of course, Charles had been in uniform. When she told both her parents she would be going to the funeral, they had disgust on their faces. But they didn't forbid her. She would have gone anyway.

The ride to the graveyard was silent. There wasn't much to talk about. Of course, when she got there, Peter and Veronica were fussing with each other. The funeral had yet to start. Charles gave her a shoulder pat before walking away after they got out of the car. She walked over to the three other teenagers at one corner of the site. 

"Just a little, Peter!" Veronica was saying. 

"No! No touching my face." He said sternly. Betty frowned as she walked over. 

"What are you guys doing?" She asked. Archie was standing next to Peter, his hands in his pockets. Both Archie and Peter were wearing suits, and Veronica was wearing a rather revealing black dress. Not the type of dress for a funeral. 

"Peter won't let me put makeup on him." Veronica said as if she was telling on a sibling who had just wronged her. Peter rolled his eyes. "Look at his face! Just a little foundation-"

"No." He said. Veronica glared at him. 

"V, leave him alone." Betty said, looking away from all three of them. She wasn't in the mood for the bickering today. Suddenly, Veronica noticed the look on Betty's face. 

"Betts, I'm sorry. I know, today is not the day for my shenanigans. I'll stop." She said, letting out a sigh. Although, Betty was looking across, near the service. She was looking at Jughead. He looked genuinely upset. He was with the other serpents. She made a move to walk over there when suddenly Peaches came and put a hand on his shoulder. Betty froze. She heard Veronica make a small sound behind her. Betty stared at the couple, suddenly feeling rage somewhere within her. 

"Betty, are you okay?" Veronica asked, sounding worried. 

"I'm fine." Betty said, a little harshly. "Let's just get this stupid funeral over." She said before walking over to where the chairs were placed.

Overall, it was a nice funeral. Betty was glad Fangs got one. He deserved it. Although, seeing the Serpents was hard. She actually considered herself one. She had been through the initiation and everything, except her boyfriend who was the Serpent prince, was no longer her boyfriend and she had no idea where she stood. She didn't miss being a gang member. She missed the people. But she had Veronica and Archie. And in some dysfunctional way, she had Peter as a friend. 

"Can you guys drive me home?" She asked, walking beside the three friends. "Charles has work." 

"Of course." Archie said. Betty looked at Peter, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else. He had taken his jacket off and had his hands in his pockets. Veronica scolded him when she saw he had taken his jacket off as if she was a mother scolding her son. It was comical, but Peter seemed to be getting used to it. 

"Hey Betty!" Toni called, running up behind the four teenagers. Betty turned around and looked to see Toni walking at a fast pace, to catch up. "Can I talk to you?" She asked. Betty furrowed her eyebrows and then nodded. She then looked at Archie and Veronica. 

"I'll meet you at the car." She said. They nodded and walked away, with Peter trailing behind them. She looked back at Toni and smiled weakly. 

"Hey, Ton. What's up?" 

"I can see the slight panic in your eyes. Don't worry, I'm not here to attack you if that's what your thinking. I wanted to say sorry." She said, moving a strand of pink hair off her shoulder. Betty was taken surprise by this. She smiled at the petite girl. 

"Why? You didn't do anything." 

"Because my best friend cheated on you, and I have no idea why because anyone who gets to be with you must be the luckiest guy in the world." Toni said earnestly. Betty was moved by her words. She supposed Toni was her friend. Although, they only ever hung out when Jughead was there. But occasionally if Betty was at an event with Cheryl, Toni had been there as well. 

"Thank you, Toni. That means a lot." Betty said softly.

"I just don't want you to be mad at me, or anything. It's really hard. Jughead is like a brother to me. And I don't condone what he did at all, but I can't stop hanging out with him. I'm always going to be there for him." 

"And I would never ask you to." Betty said quickly. "Trust me, I don't blame anyone except for Jughead. But thank you, for talking to me. I appreciate it. And I'm so sorry, about Fangs. He was my friend, too." She said. At the mention of the boy's name, Toni suddenly looked frail. Betty put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'll see you around." She said, before turning around and walking away. 

"You alright?" Veronica asked when Betty approached the car. Betty smiled and nodded. 

"I'm fine." She said, and she meant it. For the first time in a long time, she felt fine. 


	7. Queens, New York

Peter sat on the bench, with his backpack next to him. He was at a bus stop just outside of Riverdale. He had his elbows on his knees, and he was looking at the ground between his legs, leaning over. He had thrown up in some bushes, shortly after getting out of Archie's car, and running. He was breathing easily now, trying to rid his mind of the thoughts.

When he saw the headlights of the bus, he stood up, grabbing his backpack and putting one strap over his shoulder. He took his wallet out, looking at the cash inside. He had enough to get him to Queens. He had a job back in Queens, mostly thanks to one of his best friends, Harry. He hadn't talked to Harry in a few weeks. It was mostly Ned. Harry had gotten Peter a job at his father's lab as an intern. Peter had to quit when he found out he was moving six hours away. 

He stepped onto the stairs of the bus, going up and looking at the bus driver. "Where you headed, kid?" He asked, looking Peter up and down. Peter probably looked like a runaway. He assumed the driver saw a lot of those but never asked any questions. The only difference was, Peter planned on coming back. 

"Queens." He said. 

Six hours later, an exhausted Peter walked up the steps to a good-sized house. He hadn't slept at all on the bus, and he felt as if all his strength had been drained from him. He knocked on the door. It had been dark when Peter was at that bus stop. The sun was beginning to rise now. A tall Filipino woman, holding her robe together with one hand opened the door. Her face melted when she saw Peter standing there. 

"Peter!" She said, her voice full of joy. She pulled him close and wrapped her arms around him. Peter hugged her back, having known the woman since he was ten. She pulled back and looked at him. "Dear God, are you okay?" 

"I'm fine, Mrs. Leeds. I was just visiting, and I was hoping it would be okay if I stayed here for a couple of days." He said softly. She smiled kindly and nodded. 

"Yes, of course, that would be fine. Ned's upstairs. He's still asleep." She took a step back and moved so Peter could come in. Peter walked in and gave her his thanks before going up the stairs to where he knew Ned's room would be. 

When he walked into the room, he quietly shut the door behind him. Ned was sleeping on his bed. Peter silently put his backpack down next to the bed and sat on the chair in front of Ned's desk. He looked out the window, and everything had begun to hit him. He sniffed and rubbed his hand over his mouth. When he turned his head, he looked into Ned's mirror by his closet and saw himself. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, and his hair was a mess. His clothes didn't look too clean, either. 

"Shit!" Peter heard Ned yell out. He turned to see Ned, now sitting up and leaning against the wall. He looked genuinely surprised. "You scared me." He said, letting out a breath. Then his face softened and he furrowed his brows. "Are you crying?" He asked. Peter hadn't realized he had been crying until Ned pointed it out. He suddenly felt the hot wetness on his cheeks. Ned walked over, and then Peter stood up just as Ned embraced him. It felt good, to see someone he actually knew besides May. To hug his best friend. 

"I miss you, man." Peter said softly. They then pulled away from each other. Ned let out a sigh. 

"I have school in an hour." He said, before laughing softly. "How did you..." Peter shook his head. 

"I'll explain later. Go to school." He said. Ned nodded. 

"I want you to sleep while I'm gone." He said, raising an eyebrow at his exhausted friend. Peter nodded. That sounded good to him. 

So he did as Ned said. He ended up taking off his sweatshirt and laying on Ned's bed while Ned was in his bathroom getting ready for school. He didn't remember saying goodbye to his friend before he left. He just drifted off to sleep. Quickly. He was just too tired to stay up another second. 

He woke up to being shaken violently. He let out a groan, and opened his eyes, squinting against the light. "Is he still out?" A familiar, and refreshing voice shouted. He heard a second pair of footsteps. Suddenly Peter jumped, completely awake after feeling the weight of something heavy fall on him. He looked wide-eyed, at his other best friend who had just jumped on him. He would have yelled at the guy if it hadn't been for the fact that he hadn't seen him in two months. But instead, Peter smiled. 

"Harry?" He said, before laughing. Harry grinned, getting off the bed. 

"Good, you didn't forget about me. I brought you some clothes. I don't think Ned's clothes would fit you. No offense, Leeds." He said, winking at Ned who just rolled his eyes. Harry threw a gym bag at Peter, who caught it. Peter grinned, and then pulled himself out of the bed. 

"Thanks." He said softly. 

"So are you going to explain to us what you're doing here? Did you commit murder? Are you on the run? I mean hey, if you're okay with living in my business for the rest of your life-" Harry was cut off by Peter. 

"I just needed to see you guys." He said quickly. "I just... Needed a break from all the... New people I now have to live with every day." He said carefully. All the humor had left Harry's face. He nodded slowly. 

"Well, go change. We're going to eat." He said, nodding towards the bathroom. Peter nodded, before walking past his two friends, and into Ned's bathroom. He changed into the jeans that had been in the bag, and then a plain black t-shirt that had been a little tight on him. Harry had also put a gray hoodie in the gym bag that Peter put on. 

He walked out of the bathroom, and then the three boys left Ned's house. They ended up going to a cafe that hadn't been very far from Midtown High. Harry and Ned began grilling Peter as soon as they got there. 

"So..." Harry began. "How's the jock douche?" He asked. Peter frowned at him and shook his head. 

"He's not a douche." He said calmly. 

"Brotherly love." Harry said, making a sappy face at Ned. 

"And he is sure as hell, not my brother." Peter said. "He's a nice guy. Just not the type of person I would ever be friends with." He shrugged, taking a sip of the water he had ordered. 

"How's the school?" Ned asked. 

"I'm taking Physics." Peter said flatly. 

"But you took physics your sophomore year." Ned said, sounding confused. 

"They don't have a higher level class than Physics." Peter explained. Harry snorted. 

"You know that's like, how every other high school is, right?" Harry asked. Peter let out a sigh. 

"Yeah. It's just not Midtown." He said, sounding nostalgic. "The town is so small. I mean, how am I supposed to work without someone pulling out their phone to record me?" Peter asked, looking between Harry and Ned. "Not to mention the fact Spider-Man used to be here in Queens, and now he's in Riverdale. Do you know who else moved to Riverdale? Peter Parker. I can't do my job anymore." Peter sat back in his chair, a little frustrated. 

"You're talking about yourself in the third person now?" Harry asked, in that stupid smart-ass tone of his. 

"Shut up." Peter groaned out. "You get the point." 

"Peter, it's all going to work out. I mean you were awful at keeping secrets since the whole... Spider bite so you know. It's nothing you can't handle." Ned said. Peter glared at him. 

"You guys are the worst." Peter said, causing both Ned and Harry to laugh. Harry clapped a hand over Peter's back. 

"Oh, relax." He said. 

"I want to know more about Betty Cooper." Ned said, smirking at Harry. Harry's mouth made an O and he looked at Peter. 

"Who is Betty Cooper and how have I not heard this name before? Is she hot?" Harry looked at Ned excitedly, and Peter made a face of disgust and shoved his arm. 

"Shut up. She's just a friend." He said simply. 

"A friend who he's constantly with." Ned said to Harry. Harry suddenly seemed very interested. 

"Oh?" He said. Peter rolled his eyes. 

"She's a great pain in my ass is what she is. Okay, she kissed me once, and then she acts like I forced her to kiss me, acting like I'm this big great evil human. All I have ever been is nice to her and she just likes to get mad at me for things that aren't my fault. She's annoying." Peter said, not realizing what he was telling his two closest friends. When he looked up and saw their faces, his eyebrows raised. 

"What?" They both asked in unison. Suddenly Harry got excited. 

"You kissed her?" He asked as if he was proud of something his son did. 

"Hey, it wasn't like that. She was upset, and-" Peter was cut short when suddenly a hand slammed down on their table. 

"Hey! Genius's, Some people enjoy the peace and quiet so why don't you shut your-" MJ stopped talking when she saw the third boy that had been joining Harry and Ned. Her eyebrows raised and her mouth opened slightly. "Peter... What are you doing here?" Peter quickly glanced away from her and focused on a spot on the table. 

"Uh, just visiting." He said quietly. 

"Well, you weren't going to call or-" 

"Is everything okay over here?" A new voice said. Peter looked up to see MJ's new boyfriend now standing by their table. Brad Davis. The same guy MJ had gotten with after she and Peter broke up before he moved Riverdale. Harry cleared his throat. 

"Well this is awkward." He said, looking at Ned who was silently telling him to shut up. 

"Oh hey, Peter! You're back." Brad said. Peter nodded. 

"Yup, I'm back." He said flatly. 

"Well, we should go. It was nice seeing you, Peter." MJ said. It was so formal. So un-MJ. The girl who was yelling at them to shut up was MJ. Peter let out a breath as they walked away. 

"Yeah, they're still together." Ned said when they were out of earshot. 

"I see that." Peter said, shaking his head. 

"She's only with him to get over you. You do know that right?" Harry asked. Peter stared at the tabletop. 

"I guess." He whispered. "I moved six hours away, I took a bus to get here. We didn't stop being friends did we?" Peter asked, looking at Ned and Harry. They looked at each other and then back at Peter. 

"I'm sorry." Ned said softly. Peter shook his head. 

"Whatever." He said. He glanced up at the table MJ was now sitting at. She didn't change much. She was still beautiful. But it seemed different. Peter didn't feel those same feelings he had for her five months ago. He looked back down at the table. The rest of the time they had been at the cafe, Peter listened to Harry and Ned fill Peter in on what had been going on at Midtown High while he was gone. 

"The Decathlon Team isn't the same without you." Ned said. "They let Harry join. And MJ took your place as captain." 

"Yeah! I think I'm honestly the best on the team." Harry said. Peter looked at Harry incredulously. It sounded goofy coming from Harry, but in all honesty, Peter believed it. Harry liked people to believe he wasn't that smart, and he was just the average high school playboy with a rich dad. But Peter had known Harry since he was two. He knew Harry was extremely smart. Maybe too smart for his own good. ”Alright, let’s get out of here.” Harry said, before pulling out his wallet and throwing two twenty-dollar bills on the table. 

Harry was taller than both Peter and Ned. He had brown eyes and brown curly hair that stopped just below his ears. When the three boys went to high school with him, he was the one girls would look at in the halls. He was pretty popular, but he made fun of the football players, and he had little respect for the cheerleaders. He still hung out with Peter and Ned, despite the reputations they didn't have. 

The three boys rose and left the cafe. They went to Harry’s house after that. Ned didn’t feel like going home, and Harry practically lived in a mansion. 

"You act as if you get paid to put on a tight ass red spandex suit and then shoot a sticky white substance- Out of your wrist... Hold on I'm seeing a pattern." Harry said, walking into his living room and turning around towards his two friends. Ned rolled his eyes. 

"What Harry _means_ to say is that maybe put the suit down for a while. You'll be in college after this year anyway, so just wait it out. For now, why don't you actually be Peter Parker, the seventeen-year-old boy who goes to high school and does normal things." Ned sat down on one of the sofa's as he made his point. 

"But I don't want to wait until college." Peter said. 

"Hold on, do the Avengers get paid? You're not an Avenger so I guess it doesn't matter." Harry shrugged. 

"I _am_ an Avenger, Harry." Peter said. 

"Oh, so they don't get paid. So how do those guys live?" 

"Shut up, Harry." Ned said, rolling his eyes. Harry shrugged and then pulled his phone out of his pocket. Peter looked at Ned. 

"It's not even the people of the town. It's Betty." Peter said. This seemed to catch Harry's attention. 

"Wow, something I can help with." He said, hopping over the couch from behind it and sitting down next to Ned. Peter frowned at Harry and then looked at Ned again. 

"She notices things. Like, the cuts on my face, or the fact I might not be seen by anyone for a few hours in the day." 

"So she's a stalker?" Harry asked. 

"No, she's Observing. She's already asking questions about me." 

"Do you think she suspects anything?" Ned asked. 

"Not yet. But she will." 

"Then stop being a dumbass and hide your cover better." Harry said. Ned raised his eyebrows at Harry but made no move to correct him or disagree. "You have to be _better_ at this part of the job, Peter. Or else somebody in that small town will find out and it will be your fault and your fault only." He shrugged and leaned back. Peter was caught off guard for a moment, but he nodded. 

"You're right." He said honestly. "I just wish I lived in Queens. Not some town nobody's ever heard of." Peter said, letting out a sigh and crashing on the couch next to Ned. 

"You could live here, you know. My dad would never notice. You just have to get May to agree." Harry said easily. Peter shook his head. 

"No. I can't leave May." He said, running a hand through his hair. 

The rest of the time at Harry's house, they ended up just watching a movie and then Peter went home with Ned. He decided to scout the city. His suit was in his backpack because he had planned on putting it on that day, in Archie's car after school. He put his suit on, and then stood by Ned's window with his mask off. 

"Don't die." Ned said, sitting at his desk and looking down into one of his textbooks. Peter scoffed and nodded. 

"I'll try not to." He said, before putting his mask on, and going out the window. It was dark out when he began his round. Only the city lights illuminating the light. Peter had to admit, it was like a breath of fresh air being in the city again. It felt good. There were actual buildings he could web onto. Actual skyscrapers. He couldn't exactly do that in Riverdale. It was harder to travel. 

Throughout the night, he stopped two muggings and caught one car thief. Now, he was sitting on the roof of a building, his feet dangling off the edge, and his mask off. He let out a sigh and pulled his phone out. He had ten missed calls from May, and twenty-five texts. A few missed calls from Archie and texts. His eyebrows raised when he saw a missed call from Betty. And a voicemail. He pressed on the voicemail, and then pressed the phone to her ear. 

"Go home!" She yelled, and he had to pull the phone away from his ear for a second. But there was more to the voicemail. "Seriously, Peter. People are worried about you. Go home." She said sternly, before ending the voicemail. Peter couldn't help but smile a little bit, before turning his phone off. He looked up and narrowed his eyes in the distance.

He saw a few people on the roof of a building across from him. It looked sketchy. He put his phone away and then put his mask on before standing up, and webbing himself towards the building. When he landed on the same roof as the three men, he saw clearly. It was a drug deal. He rolled his eyes, before walking over. 

"Hey guys!" He said enthusiastically. They all looked up at him and frowned. They all pulled out guns and pointed them directly at him. Peter put his hands up on either side of his head. "Wow, wow, I just came to make sure you're not doing illegal things. Oh, wait that's exactly what you're doing!" They all began firing, but Peter quickly jumped out of the way and webbed one of the guns, slamming the man that held it into the other two men. 

Peter then walked over to them on the ground and let out a small yawn. "Man, I'm kind of tired." He said. "Alright, who's phone am I using to call the cops?" Suddenly, one of the men jumped up and punched Peter in the face, which looking back at it, Peter knew he should have blocked that. It was a hard punch, and he tasted the metallic taste of blood. He straightened himself and looked at the man. "Okay. Now I'm pissed." He said softly. 

Suddenly he felt a hand grab his shoulder violently, and he turned his head to see a new man. It was a fourth one. He must have just got there. Peter quickly got out of the man's grip, grabbing his leg and pushing him over. He then turned, all of his senses warning him of what was to come, but he was just one second too late. He felt a sudden pain in his head. As if he had a really bad headache. He realized why. One of the other men had gotten up and hit him in the head with an aluminum baseball bat. 

It hurt like hell. He let out a groan and touched a hand to where he had been hit. He then webbed the bat, grabbing it and throwing it off the roof. He started towards the man who had just hit him, but he had completely forgotten about the fourth man. So, it caught him by surprise when he came out of nowhere, shoving Peter with all his might. Peter hadn't realized how close to the edge they had driven him to. He webbed, trying to catch himself, but he misfired and his webs went straight up into the sky. 

He tasted a lot more blood in his mouth when he hit the ground. He gasped, feeling the wind get knocked out of him, and a great ache in his ribs and back. "Ah!" He began to let out a series of pain-filled groans. People began to crowd around him, but he ignored them. He pulled himself up, every inch he moved bringing great pain to his ribs. Lots of the people had been asking him if he was alright. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He said, moving past the crowds of people. He quickly webbed himself up the building and yelled out in pain when he got to the roof. The men were gone. "Damn it!" He yelled. He couldn't web anymore, or else he would feel those explosions of pain within himself. He limped over to the door on the roof that leads to the stairwell and opened it going inside. 

Turns out, the building was a hotel. As soon as he got inside, he took his mask off and limped toward an elevator, slamming his finger on the button. He held his side with one hand, and leaned his other hand against the wall, balancing himself. Nothing like that had ever happened to him before. He usually had situations like that under control. He supposed he hadn't been himself in a couple of weeks now. 

When the elevator opened, there was a woman with her young daughter inside. The mom raised her eyebrows, and her daughter hid behind her mother. Peter let out a sigh and limped into the elevator. He pressed the button that was the bottom floor. He nodded towards the two girls next to him. "How are you doing?" He asked, grimacing in pain. The mom held onto her daughter's arm and took a step away. Peter nodded and looked away. "Good." He said. 

It was hard climbing up the wall outside of Ned's house and to his window. Peter felt pain on every inch of his body. If he wasn't different, if he was normal, he would have died after falling off that building. Ned was still awake when he got back. 

"Jesus, what the hell happened to you?" He asked when he saw Peter. 

"I screwed up." Peter said before crashing on Ned's bed. 

"You need to get to a hospital!" Ned said quickly. 

"No." Peter said firmly. "If the doctors see my cells regenerating three times faster than an average human's then they will call..." His voice trailed off and Ned stared at his friend with a raised eyebrow. "They'll call people I don't want to deal with." 

"Should we call Happy?" Ned asked. 

"No. I'll be fine in a few days."

"Peter, I think some of your ribs are broken." Ned said in disbelief. "You could have internal bleeding!" 

"I'll be fine." Peter said dismissively. "I'm not normal, remember?" 

"You're still a human, Peter." Ned said desperately. "You aren't immortal!" 

"I said no hospitals." Peter snapped. "Just please go get me a first aid kit. Please." He said. Ned nodded silently, before leaving. Peter laid back on the bed and let out a pained sigh. 

The only drugs Ned had for pain was Tylenol. It wasn't morphine, but after taking six of them, Peter was starting to feel some comfort. Ned, on the other hand, was worried he would overdose. Peter thought he was really overestimating the power of Tylenol. And underestimating Peter's metabolism. He stayed the night, and the next morning, he packed up his things. It was a Thursday, and he had to get home and go back to school. It be an embarrassment if he flunked his grades at such a mediocre school. 

"Peter, it was so nice to see you. Are you sure you don't want David to drive you home? We want you to be as safe as possible." Mrs. Leeds had been saying, with Peter by the front door. He smiled and shook his head. 

"I'll be fine. Thank you." He said. She hadn't questioned his new black eye, and the cuts on his lip, but in truth, he thought she just genuinely was too afraid to ask. She smiled and nodded before retreating into the other room. Peter looked at Ned. 

"I'm nostalgic. Except for the last time you left me I was outside your old apartment building." He said. Peter laughed lightly and nodded. "I'm sorry." He said softly. 

"Sorry that I got my ass kicked, or sorry that I'm leaving?" Peter asked. 

"Honestly? I'm sorry you had to come back to see your girlfriend with that ass-hat. At least she's not with Flash." Ned said lightly. Peter shivered at the mention of Flash's name. Now that was one encounter he was grateful he avoided. Though, he would be coming back for Winter break. Peter shrugged. 

"Don't even joke about that, and she's not my girlfriend." Peter said, shrugging. "Not anymore." 

"Yeah, whatever." Ned said, waving a hand dismissively. "Oh, I forgot. It's all about Betty Cooper now." Peter shoved Ned, it was meant as a playful move, but he might have been a little too rough because Ned frowned and rubbed his shoulder. 

"Sorry." Peter said, genuinely. 

"Hit the road." Ned said. They hugged, and then Peter left. He put his hood up, holding his backpack strap over one shoulder. Mrs. Leeds had washed his clothes for him, to which he was grateful. He had been in Ned's parent's good graces. Most parents liked him. He walked to the bus station and got on the bus. The ride felt longer than six hours. He stared out his window most of the time, with his earbuds in. He felt good. Refreshed. 

He had hoped another mishap like the one on that roof in Queens wouldn't happen again. His senses had been all over the place. He wanted his old self back. Maybe a trip to Queens had been just what he needed. He thought about MJ. How her wild, curly hair had been tamed. How her hand held Brad's. Her beautiful brown eyes. But it was strange. Each time he thought about MJ, his mind drifted off to another girl. Betty. 

When Peter got back to Riverdale, the sun was setting. He walked down the sidewalk, in the middle of town. He saw a lot of familiar faces. He supposed that was how it was in a small town. Lots waved to him. He waved back. He was an outsider. But people were still kind. He saw Betty's father. He had been walking down the stairs of the Register. 

"Hey, Pedro." He said, walking to his car. Peter nodded and began to correct him. 

"It's-" But he got in his car and shut the door. "Peter..." He shook his head and continued to walk down the road. It was dark by the time he got back to the Andrew's house. He stood outside, knowing what was to come. The wrath of May Parker. Peter wasn't related to her by blood. It was his uncle he was related to. His biological father's brother. Although, May would never call herself Peter's mother. It was like a fear of hers. She preferred the title 'Aunt May.' Peter didn't mind either. It would be weird to ever call May _mom._ Maybe if he started calling her Mom when he was three, and she first became one of his legal guardians. But she liked Aunt May. 

That didn't mean she didn't treat him like a son. He treated her like his mother. He didn't really remember his parents. He was too young. Although, when he was thirteen he began having nightmares with them in it. It was weird. They went away after a few weeks, and he never told anybody. May was very easy-going, and chill. Except when Peter worried her to death. Which he assumed he had. When she was angry, nobody would mess with her. Especially Peter. She had lungs of steel. 

He took a deep breath, before walking up the steps, suddenly freezing when he sensed something. He turned to see Betty. He knew it was Betty, but it was kind of hard to see her in the dark. It looked like she had just taken the trash out. 

"Peter?" She asked in a small voice. He slowly took his hood off and gripped his backpack strap. Betty looked like she had genuinely been worried, which surprised Peter. Archie liked to talk. And Peter was alright with that. It seemed like Archie needed someone to talk to. He couldn't talk to Jughead anymore. So Peter listened. He talked about Betty a lot. How she had been through a lot. She had lost a lot of people. So, Peter could understand why she would get worried, even when someone like Peter, who she didn't exactly like but knew, went missing. 

"Yeah." He said softly. "It's me." 

"Where were you?" She asked. Now she sounded angry. "There are people looking for you. My brother is looking for you." 

"Well, I'm fine. Alright?" He said quickly. He winced, feeling the pain in his ribs. Betty shook her head, and went into her house, slamming the door behind her. Peter stood there for another moment. He wanted to go to her door and knock. He wanted to look her in the eyes and say he was sorry. Although, he didn't know about what. Disappearing? He shook his head and went inside his own house. Or, the house he lived in.

He was confronted immediately. May burst into the room, her eyes full of fury. She looked exhausted. She looked skinnier than usual and frail. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot. Her hair looked uncombed and uncooperative. She wasn't wearing her big round glasses. She was wearing a plain purple robe. 

"Where in the hell have you been?" She yelled. Peter let out a sigh. 

"Out." He said. She shook her head, looking angrier than ever. Her nostrils flaring. 

"No. No, you don't get to dismiss me like that. I asked you a question and you are going to answer it!" She yelled. Peter put his hands in his pockets. 

"I'm sorry." He said softly. 

"You don't get to be sorry. You don't get to disappear for two days. I have watched you beat yourself up. You left the goddamn planet. You don't get to disappear without saying anything all this time. Not until you have seen the person you marry leave your house one minute, and never come back. To find out they were shot on the street." She yelled. 

"May, please." A familiar voice from the other room said. Peter watched as Happy Hogan stepped into the room, wearing his signature suit. He looked at May, red in the face and a vein sticking out of her forehead. She was shaking now. She looked at Peter with disgust. 

"I am so disappointed in you." She spat, before going up the stairs and disappearing. Peter heard a door slam shortly after. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. 

"I'm sorry, Happy." He said quietly. "Does she hate me?" He asked. Happy shook his head. 

"She could never hate you." He said simply. "She was worried. She'll be fine, after seeing you here in the morning. She thought you were dead, Peter. The last time you disappeared for two days you didn't come back home for five years." Peter nodded. Suddenly he felt lightheaded and almost fell, putting a hand on the wall for support. He let out a breath, the ache in his ribs pulsing. "What the hell did you do? Come sit down." He said, walking into the living room. Peter limply followed him. He collapsed on the couch when he got to it. 

"I got my ass kicked. Fell off a very big building." He said, looking up at Happy. 

"So you went to Queens?" He asked. Peter looked away. "You need a doctor, Peter. I can get you one that can understand who you are and how your body works, without your identity ever being revealed." Peter shook his head. 

"I'm fine. I just need some painkillers." 

"You need to stop being _stupid_." 

"Okay, I'm trying." Peter snapped. "You don't think I know I'm different? I left because I had a moment. I had a panic attack, okay? I never used to have panic attacks. I needed to see my friends!" Happy stared at the boy, concern on his face. 

"You had a panic attack?" He asked softly. Peter nodded. "Peter... You need a doctor. And not for your physical injuries." Peter stared at Happy for a moment. 

"You think I'm crazy?" He asked. Happy shook his head quickly. 

"No, I think you're broken." He said honestly. "And that's okay. That's fine." 

"No. What I need, is some painkillers." Peter said. "I'm home. Alright? I won't pull a stunt like that again, I promise." 

"Yeah. You better not." Happy mumbled. "I'll get you a prescription. And some antibiotics. And a doctor. If you argue with me, I will have a whole army hold you down if I have to. I'll send him here." Peter knew there was no point in arguing. He suddenly realized something and looked around. 

"Hold on. Where's..." 

"Don't worry. Archie and Fred are out looking for you. They haven't heard any of this." Happy explained. Peter nodded. 

"I really am sorry Happy. I just... Really needed to see Ned and Harry." Peter said honestly. It suddenly hit him how much it really must have hurt May. 

"I understand. But you have to let the people who care about you know you're safe." Happy said. 

"Yeah." Peter agreed. 

The next day, the whispers and stares didn't go unnoticed. Peter wondered if the whole town knew. He wondered if they thought he had some psychotic break. Was he known as the school weirdo now? The kid with issues upstairs? He decided he didn't really care. Seeing Fred was a little weird. Fred hugged Peter and told him how happy he was that Peter was okay. It was genuine, but Peter supposed that was just how Fred was. He was glad May had someone like him. 

Of course, Betty questioned everything about Peter all day. It was a bit odd. At the beginning of the day, she shot questions at him in rapid-fire. What happened to him that he got so hurt? Where did he go? Why did he leave? But by the end of the day, she seemed so disinterested in him. He wasn't complaining, but still. It was a switch-up. Overall, Peter was glad he was back. This was his life now. And he got to see the people he was used to seeing every day. That was enough for him. For a while. 


	8. Bonfires in the Dark

Betty had been thinking about the whole Peter running away situation from last week. She was going over to his house after school to do some Chemistry homework with him. She still wasn't sure whether to call it his house or Archie's house. It was weird for her because she knew the house to be Archie's her whole life. She had just got home and grabbed her backpack from the back of her car before locking it and then starting toward the house next to hers. 

When she knocked on the door, May Parker answered. Her face lit up when she saw Betty. "Cooper. Good to see you." Betty smiled at the woman she had taken a liking for. 

"You too, Mrs. Parker." She said happily. 

"Oh, please. Mrs. Parker was my mother in law. Call me May. If you're here for Peter, I'm sorry to say he's grounded. But I'm assuming you're here for Archie?" She asked. It seemed she didn't enjoy saying the sentence. Betty assumed May wasn't the type of parental figure who grounded her nephew often. 

"Oh, um I'm sorry. Peter and I just had some Chemistry homework. He said it might be okay. But if not, I can totally go." Betty said, trying to be polite to the woman. May's face softened. 

"No. Homework is an exception. Just go home before dark, alright?" She stepped aside, and Betty nodded. 

"Of course." She said, before walking up the stairs and going down the hall where Archie's room was. She knocked, waiting for the words that said it was okay to come in. She wasn't about to have another incident, like the one by the window. Except it would be worse this time. Peter would be only a few feet away from her. 

"Come in." She heard Peter's soft voice say. She opened the door and smiled when she saw Archie was there too. 

"I was just leaving." Archie said. "Reggie and I are going to Pops. You sure you two don't want to come?" He asked, mainly looking at Peter. 

"I already told you I'm on house arrest." Peter reminded him. Archie nodded, before smiling at Betty and walking past her, leaving the room. Betty shut the door quietly, and then sat on Archie's bed, across from Peter. 

"How's your side?" She asked, nodding at him. 

"Good. It's healing. Almost like it never happened." He said. She raised an eyebrow at him. Was it possible for cracked, or even broken ribs to heal within days? Peter smiled innocently at her. His smile was like a line, with his mouth closed, and his thin lips. It was kind of cute. Betty rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

"Okay." She said, zipping open her backpack. "Is May still mad at you?" 

"She considered making eggs for me this morning. I mean she never did but she considered it so that's a start." He said, making Betty laugh lightly. "At least Archie got eggs." He said, shrugging. 

"Oh my god." Betty said, shaking her head. "You're going to the bonfire right?" 

"Why would I go to a party in the middle of the woods, with a bunch of kids who think I'm a ticking time bomb? Also, I'm grounded for another two months, and lastly, I don't go to parties remember? Oh yeah, not to mention it's going to be like, twenty degrees out." 

"Okay, party pooper I get it." Betty said. "First off, nobody thinks you're a ticking time bomb, secondly, sneak out, and third you should be more social. And lastly, there's going to be a fire for a reason. There, all your reasons for not going have been debunked." 

"Yeah, the last time I disappeared without a trace, May screamed at me and forbid me from leaving the house, besides for school, for two months. Which is not a lot if you really think about the circumstances. It could have been a lot worse. I'm not doing something like that again." Peter said, shrugging. Betty let out a sigh. 

"Fine." She said, putting her hands up. "I tried." She let out a sigh, before taking her textbook out of her backpack. "Let's just get this over with."

Betty stayed for an hour and a half, and then Archie eventually came home. He sat on his bed quietly, with earbuds in while Peter and Betty studied. He wasn't really a bother. When Betty began packing her things and getting ready to leave, Archie sprung up. 

"Can I go with you back to your house? I forgot to tell you that I have this project in bio, and I think he could help." Archie had said. Betty nodded. 

"Yeah, sure." She said, shrugging before she looked back at Peter, who was sitting on the edge of his bed. He looked a little fidgety, bouncing his knee up and down quickly. "Bye, Peter." She said, softly. He nodded. 

"Yeah, see you later." He responded quietly. Archie grabbed his jacket, and then they left the room, closing the door behind them. They reached the beginning of the staircase when Archie stopped. 

"Hold on, I forgot my phone." He said, turning around. Betty followed him back, opening her mouth to say something as he opened the door to the bedroom, and she stopped in her tracks. Peter's eyes widened, and he quickly looked at the two teenagers in the doorway. Betty dropped her backpack on the floor and quickly covered her eyes with her hands. He had taken his clothes off, and she had seen more than she ever wanted to see of Peter. She could hear the very quick ruffling of fabric, and she peeked through her fingers. He had covered the bottom half of himself with a blanket. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Archie asked, incredulously. 

"What are you doing?" Peter shot back, his voice full of panic. "I-I was going to shower." He said quickly. Archie snorted, and it sounded like he was going to laugh, but Peter wasn't having it. 

"Why are you still here? Get out." He said quickly. It didn't sound rude, or like an attack, Peter just seemed really irritated at that point. Archie put his hands up on either side of his head and grabbed his phone before quickly leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. Betty was a little speechless. 

"Let's go." Archie said, his voice full of humor before he walked away, towards the stairs. Betty nodded and was about to follow Archie when she heard Peter talking. She stopped to listen. 

"Hello? Karen?" He asked. Betty furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the closed door. "Yeah, whatever. Call Ned." He said. Betty frowned, listening. She wanted to know who Karen was. 

"Betty." Archie called. Suddenly, Peter's voice went dead silent. Betty looked over at Archie, and then back at the door before nodding. 

"Coming." She said softly, before following him down the stairs. She went straight to her room after getting home. She left Archie to talk to Charles.

As soon as she shut her door she walked over to her window and looked out across the way to Archie's window. The room seemed to be empty. Either Peter was actually in the shower, or he was somewhere else, Betty thought. But May wouldn't let him leave. Unless he went out of the window. This got her wondering how he could get out the window so quickly without her or Archie seeing. They had just been outside. She suddenly remembered Kevin's words. She was being paranoid again. She shook her head and closed the curtains.

She tried to get that image of Peter out of her head, blushing at the thought, and getting her laptop out to do some homework. The next night was the bonfire, and she was excited. She wasn't a complete fan of parties, especially at Cheryl's house, but she liked the bonfires. It was going to be cold, but it was okay nonetheless. 

She ended up going to sleep, and the next day, she got dressed in the clothes she would be wearing to the bonfire and went over to Archie's house. It was what they had planned. Veronica would be over there too. The three were going to go together, but they were all going to bring some stuff together. She knocked on the door and put her hands in her jacket pocket. Peter opened the door and stared at her as if she wasn't sure what she wanted. She glared at him. 

"Oh wow, you have clothes on." She said, in an overly surprised voice. His face slightly got red, and he moved so she could come in. Betty walked past him and followed the sounds to the kitchen. She heard Peter shut the door behind her. Archie, Veronica, and May were sitting at the table, talking. When May saw Betty, she stood up and walked over, surprising Betty by hugging her. Betty hesitantly hugged her back. She pulled away and smiled at the shorter girl. 

"Oh, Betty it's so nice to see you." She said happily. Betty laughed lightly and nodded. 

"You too, Mrs. Parker." She said. 

"I already told you, call me May." She reminded, before sitting back down. Betty sat next to Veronica and watched as Peter walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge and getting a bottle of water out. 

"So, why aren't you coming again?" Veronica asked him in an accusatory tone. Peter shut the fridge and looked at her as if he just noticed she was there. 

"I'm grounded. Remember?" He said, looking at May. May looked at him and smiled softly. 

"Oh, you can go." She said. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her. 

"What?" 

"You can go. Have fun." 

"I have homework." He said, walking towards the doorway. 

"Peter Parker, you are coming!" Veronica called. 

"Homework." He called back, leaving the kitchen and walking up the stairs. Veronica rolled her eyes. 

"Don't bother." May said softly. "He's like his uncle. He's stubborn." She shook her head and looked down into her mug Betty assumed was full of coffee. 

"What are we bringing?" Betty asked Archie. 

"Well Reggie, Cheryl, and Toni are bringing the..." He looked at May. "Water." He finished. Veronica snorted at that. May waved a dismissive hand. 

"Oh, please. You can say beer. Just don't pass out and get eaten by a pack of wolves and I have no problem." She said. The three teens laughed lightly at that. "Just don't let your father find out. I think his opinions on illegal underage drinking differ from mine." She winked, and then stood up, going over to the sink and emptying her mug. 

"I brought extra blankets." Veronica said. "No point in freezing to death, either." Betty nodded in agreement. 

"If any of you guys have been drinking too much to drive, either call me or Fred. Got it?" May asked, her voice full of warning. They all nodded in agreement. 

"We should get ready to go, it's going to take half an hour to get there." Archie said. "And Reggie needs help setting up." Both the girls nodded and they all stood up. Archie went up to his room to get a few things before coming back down, and Veronica put on one of Archie's jackets over her clothes. They both went and waited in his truck, while he loaded some stuff in the back. He got in the car after ten minutes. 

"Peter says bye." He said. 

"He's really not coming?" Veronica asked incredulously. 

"Is there something you want to tell me?" He asked her, and Betty burst into laughter. 

"Sorry I'm just a naturally nice person." She said defensively. 

"Those aren't the words I would use." Betty commented. 

It did take them half an hour to get to the spot where they would be. Archie parked on the side of the road where he saw Reggie's car and Cheryl's bright red car. They had been in the woods, setting up where the bonfire would be. Cheryl strutted right in front of Betty when they got to the spot. 

"Make yourself useful." She said. "Go set up the tables where the beer is going to be. The tables are in Reggie's car." She said. Betty looked at Veronica behind Cheryl, who had been laughing and rolling her eyes. She looked back at Cheryl. 

"Aye, aye, captain." She said sarcastically, before turning around and walking back towards the cars. She helped set up, and people had begun to show up quickly. Reggie had made sure the whole school knew about the party that night. By the time Betty, Archie, Veronica, Reggie, and Cheryl were done setting up, the sun was beginning to set and a ton of people were showing up.

"God, Reg. I thought it was going to be close friends only." Veronica had said. 

"That's not fun." He responded. Veronica rolled her eyes at that. Betty watched as Archie cracked open a beer and took a drink. 

"Hey! You're my ride home." Betty snapped. 

"I can be your ride home, Betty." Reggie said quickly. Betty raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Gross." She said, before walking away. 

"I didn't mean it like that!" He called. Betty went over to one of the tables and began getting herself a drink from one of the red plastic solo cups. 

"Nice car." She heard someone call, and then a car door slam. Betty looked over her shoulder to see Peter, next to May's beaten up station wagon. He nodded at whoever had jabbed at the not so nice looking car. His eyes then landed on Betty, looking at him. She felt a liquid splash on her hand and looked down to see she was overfilling her cup. She quickly stopped and backed away. When she looked up again, Peter was walking towards her. 

"I thought you didn't go to parties." She said, smiling up at him. He wasn't taller than her by much. Peter was actually pretty short, especially if he was standing next to Archie. But she had to tilt her head up the slightest bit to look at him. 

"I don't." He said, looking around and letting out a sigh. "But I think May and Fred wanted the house to themselves. She let me take her car." He looked over his shoulder at the old car. "I think it's really boosting my ego." He muttered. Betty laughed at that. 

"It's definitely the best car here." She said, and he smiled at her. 

"Oh, so look who decided to show up." Veronica said, coming up behind Peter. Peter's smile faded and he turned to look at her. "I saw you over here and got you this." She said, thrusting a cup at him. He looked down at it and back up at her. 

"I don't drink." He said. 

"Peter, if you aren't drinking, you will look like a weirdo." She said. Peter let out a sigh and took the cup from her. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him. He raised the cup to his mouth and took a drink from it. Betty watched as his throat worked. "Well?" Veronica asked. Peter smiled with his mouth closed. 

"Mhm." He mumbled. Veronica seemed satisfied. 

"That's what I thought." She said, before turning around and walking away. Betty watched as Peter waited a moment before turning and spitting the beer he had drank into the bushed. Betty raised her eyebrows and laughed. 

"You don't like it?" She asked. He looked at her and wiped his mouth. 

"I have to drive tonight." He said. Betty shrugged and looked at his cup. 

"You know it's okay to let loose sometimes, right?" She asked. "I'm just saying. You don't have to be so uptight all the time." She smiled at him before turning and walking away. Peter watched her walk away, and looked into the plastic cup, before letting out a sigh. He quickly finished the cup, squeezing his eyes shut as he swallowed it all. He shook his head, at the bitter taste, and then opened his eyes. He felt nothing, but that was expected. Peter seriously never drank, but the very rare times he did, it usually had no effect on him because of his metabolism. It would take a lot of alcohol to get him drunk. So, he did something very unlike him. He went to get more. 

Betty was talking to Toni when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Jughead, standing behind her. She froze, and the smile she had on her face faded. She looked at him, smiling down at her. 

"Hey." He said softly. Betty stared at him as if she was looking at someone she hadn't recognized. 

"Hi." She said, noticing that Toni had snuck away. 

"Can we talk?" He asked. Betty glanced around until she saw Veronica. She was laughing at something Cheryl had said and was standing next to Archie. She looked back up at Jughead. 

"Yeah." She said softly. "Sure." She glanced back at her friends, and then followed him as he began to walk away from the clearing. They walked through the trees, and Betty heard the loud music begin to fade, getting quieter. When it started to get dark, without the glow of the fire, she stopped. "Right here is fine." She said. Jughead turned around and looked at her. He furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Are you afraid of me?" He asked. She stared at him and hesitated before shaking her head. 

"No. Of course not. I just..." She let out a sigh. "What do you want, Jughead?" She asked. He ran a hand through his jet black curls. 

"I miss you." He said honesty. This caused Betty to scoff, and shake her head. 

"Are you sick of Peaches?" She asked. 

"You know that's not it." He said quickly. "I miss _you._ come on, Betts. I fucked up. People fuck up." 

"You're allowed to mess up. What you're not allowed to do is be with another girl while you call yourself my boyfriend, and then make me feel guilty about it. Me. You don't get to do that. You're the one who should feel guilty." She snapped. "If that's what you dragged me away from the party to tell me, then I think we're done here." She turned to go, but he grabbed her wrist, quite tightly. She turned to look at him. 

"Betty, wait. Please just listen to me." He said, keeping his grip around her wrist. She looked up at him, incredulously. She took his hand and removed it from her wrist. 

"Never touch me again." She said coldly. "If you ever put hands on me again, I will make sure you regret every bad decision you've ever made." She snapped. He stared at her, his eyes suddenly looking hollow. She shook her head, before turning back around, and walking away. She walked towards the music and light. Suddenly, she stopped walking when Reggie stepped in front of her. She let out an exasperated sigh. 

"Hey, Betts." He said chirpily. She gave him a fake smile. 

"Hi." 

"You will be glad to hear I have not been drinking so I will be perfectly sober enough to give you a ride home later. Just like I promised." He said with a smile. 

"I never agreed to that." She said, before attempting to walk past him. He only blocked her path once again. 

"Come on. Why are you giving me the cold shoulder? I just want to talk." 

"Reggie, I'm not in the mood. Please get out of my way." She said, glaring up at him. 

"Listen, I just-" He began, but was cut off when suddenly, someone put his hand on his shoulder. 

"Whew! Almost fell there. Hey guys." Peter said, smiling widely and looking between Reggie and Betty. Betty raised her eyes at the sight of him. "Everything alright?" He removed his hand from Reggie's shoulder and gained his balance. Reggie looked at him as if he was a parasite. 

"Yeah, we're fine. You can leave now." He said dismissively. 

"Actually, we're not fine." Betty said, glaring at Reggie. Peter looked at Reggie and then at Betty. 

"I don't think she wants to talk to you." He whispered although both of them could hear him. 

"Why don't you get your smart ass out of here, yeah?" Reggie asked, turning to Peter. Peter put his hands up defensively, although his face was full of humor. 

"Come on, Reg. You don't want to end up with another broken nose. Anyway, I need to talk to Betty." He said, looking at Betty. Reggie's jaw had dropped at what Peter had said, and he looked like he was ready to kill him. Betty laughed and nodded. 

"Alright. Bye, Reg." She said, taking Peter's arm and walking away from him before the situation could escalate. Once they were out of earshot of him, Betty got in front of Peter and looked at him. "Are you drunk?" She asked. Peter squinted at her as if he didn't hear her clearly. 

"Maybe a little." He admitted. Betty raised her eyebrows. 

"Peter, I am genuinely in shock. I thought you didn't drink." 

"I don't. But you told me to let loose so..." 

"So, you listened to me?" She asked. He nodded with a smile on his face, and Betty began to laugh. 

"You're a lot more fun when you're drunk. And you're coming out of your shell. I think I like drunk Peter better than sober Peter." She said. 

"I have a shell?" Peter asked. She rolled her eyes and ignored that. 

"So, the broken nose thing. Did you have anything to do with that?" She asked. Peter shrugged. 

"I can't tell you that. I've been threatened by a dumb jock." He said. Betty closed her eyes and shook her head with a smile on her face. She opened her eyes and looked at him again. "But I can promise you I won't be the third guy who tries to get into your pants tonight." He said and then frowned at himself. "Did I just say that out loud?" He asked. Betty began giggling, holding her stomach as she did. 

"Third guy? Have you been watching me?" She asked. Peter suddenly looked a little nervous. 

"I only saw you go into the woods with Jughead. I wasn't listening or anything. I don't know why I would even say that. You can go into the woods with whoever you want." He said quickly. 

"I'm not mad." Betty said, smiling at his rambling. "And not that it's any of your business, but all that happened was Jughead trying a pathetic attempt at trying to get me to be with him again. You can imagine my answer." She said. 

"You said yes." Peter said flatly. Betty stared at him incredulously. 

"I sai no, Peter." She said, her words full of laughter. He nodded, as if that made sense. Betty rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot." She said. 

"Thank you!" He said. Betty let out a sigh and looked around at everyone else by the fire, talking. There was no sign of Veronica or Archie. Suddenly, Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen came on, and Betty heard Peter gasp. "This is such a good song." He said over dramatically. Betty raised an eyebrow. 

"I've literally never heard this song." She said. 

"It's an eighties song." He said as if it was obvious. 

"You listen to eighties music?" She asked. 

"It's the best music." He said as if he was offended. Betty laughed lightly and shook her head. He began moving his limbs loosely with his eyes closed. 

"What are you doing?" Betty asked. 

"I'm dancing." 

"That's not dancing, I don't know what that is." She said, covering her mouth and watching him. 

"Come on, dance with me." He said, and before she could protest, he took her hand and spun her before pulling her to his chest. She looked at him and scoffed, a little surprised. She felt him put his hands on her hips, and she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, as they began to sway. 

"Okay, so you can kind of dance." She admitted. He frowned. 

"Of course I can. May Parker taught me." He said. 

"Really?" Betty asked. Peter nodded. 

"Homecoming, sophomore year. You know, I almost died that night." 

"Oh, really?" Betty asked with a raised eyebrow. He nodded. 

"Yeah, I held onto a plane from the outside as it was crashing while my girlfriend's dad was stealing crates from inside full of weapons." He said. Betty's smile faded, and she stared at him. He snorted and began to laugh. "It's just a joke." He said. Betty smiled and laughed lightly. She didn't comment on that.

"Thank you. For helping me, when Reggie wouldn't leave me alone." She said softly. Peter smiled.

"I hate that guy." He said, causing Betty to laugh and rest her forehead on his shoulder for a moment. She lifted her head and looked at him, smiling and showing her teeth. They were both quiet for a moment. She looked into his light brown eyes, and he looked into her emerald green ones. "You're really pretty." He suddenly blurted out. Betty's smile faded, and she felt a slight blush in her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I-" 

"It's okay." She said softly. "Thank you." Suddenly she pulled away from him and removed her hands from his neck. "Come on, hand over your keys." She said. He frowned. 

"What?" 

"You're drunk, Veronica and Archie are making out somewhere, and I'm tired. I'm driving us home, give me your keys." She said, holding her hand out. Peter let out a sigh, before taking his keys out of his pocket and placing them in her hand. Betty quickly texted Veronica and Archie that she had gone home with Peter, and then she walked over to May's car with him. She helped him into the passenger's seat, and then walked around and got into the Driver's side herself. 

"I have work tomorrow." Peter groaned out, lazily in his seat. Betty looked over at him and frowned. 

"You got a job?" She asked, although he had closed his eyes, and was breathing easily through his mouth, his chest slowly moving up and down. "Peter?" She asked softly, but he didn't respond. She et out a sigh, and then reached over him, grabbing his seat belt and then buckling him in. She drove home, letting him sleep as she drove, and then she parked May's car in the driveway. She took her own seatbelt off and carefully began to shake Peter until he woke up. 

He groaned softly, and opened his eyes, stretching his arms. "We're home," Betty said softly. Peter squinted his eyes, looking out the windshield, and Betty rolled her eyes, getting out of the car and going around to his side so she could help him out. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and Betty let him hold onto her for balance, as they walked up the steps and to the front door. "Which ones the house key?" She whispered, holding up the keys to Peter. He looked down at them for a moment. 

"This one." He said softly, pointing at one of them. Betty used it to unlock the door, and then they both went in. She shut the door as quietly as she could behind them, and then helped Peter up the stairs. When they got up to his room, he hit his head against the doorframe. 

"Ah." He said, closing one eye. Betty giggled, and quickly covered her mouth. 

"Shhh." She said softly, helping him to his bed. She shut the door behind them so hopefully, they wouldn't wake up Fred or May. As Peter fell back on his bed, he brought Betty down with him, and as she fell on him, she kneed him in his groin. 

"Owe!" He said loudly, before sitting up. Betty quickly put her hand over his mouth, sitting on his lap. She watched him, slowly start to relax as she straddled his lap. She waited for a moment, waiting to hear any footsteps or sounds. 

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "Are you okay?" She slowly took her hand off his mouth. He nodded silently. She watched as he glanced down at her lips, and then he looked down at their position. Betty slowly got off of him and then stood up. He suddenly looked very tired. He laid back in the bed, and then Betty took the blankets and covered him with them. 

"I'm sorry if I said anything weird tonight." He suddenly whispered. Betty smiled down at him. 

"You didn't. You've been very sweet to me this whole night." She whispered back. And she meant it. He nodded and closed his eyes. Betty stood there for a moment, before leaning down and kissing his cheek. "Goodnight, Peter." She said softly. He seemed to be asleep. She stood straight up, and walked over to the door, leaving the room and closing the door as quietly as she could. When she turned, she realized May had been standing outside the room. Her eyes widened. 

"Hello, Betty." May said quietly. Betty looked between May and the room she had just come out of. May had on a robe, and her hair had vowed down her shoulders. 

"May. This isn't what it looks like." She whispered. "Peter... Had a little too much to drink. I was just-" 

"I understand." May said. "Thank you for making sure he got home safe." She whispered with a kind smile. She winked at Betty and then left, going down the hall to what seemed to be her room. Betty frowned, and then let out a sigh, before going down the stairs and leaving the house. She walked to her own house and had to quietly get in. She, unlike at Peter's house, didn't wake any of her family members.

When she got up to her room, she changed into more comfortable clothes and went over the events of the night in her head. She laid back in her bed and closed her eyes, thinking about Peter. She genuinely had a little fun with him tonight. Even if it didn't last long. She fell asleep, thinking about his hands on her hips, and the way they danced. 


	9. The Ice Storm

The day after the party had been a Sunday, and Betty had stayed in most of the day, getting some homework in and relaxing. The Monday after the party, it had begun snowing lightly. Betty had been at her locker when she turned her head and jumped in surprise. Peter had been standing right there. She laughed lightly and let out a sigh. "I didn't hear you. What's up?" 

"Hey." He said softly. Betty looked back at her locker and began to put her laptop in. 

"So, did Archie ever come home or is he still in his own world with Veronica?" She asked without looking at Peter. 

"He came home." Peter responded. Then he paused, looking at her as if he was trying to decipher something. Betty studied him silently. "Did anything happen last night? Like, between us?" He suddenly asked. Betty raised an eyebrow. "I remember most of it, but I think I was half asleep by the time we got home. It's a little blurry." He admitted. Betty smiled and shook her head. 

"Nothing happened, Peter. Of course not." She said. He nodded. "I bet you had a killer hangover the next day." 

"Not really." He said dismissively. 

"Really?" 

"Yeah, I didn't feel anything." He shrugged. Betty frowned and then shrugged. 

"Okay..." She said. Suddenly Donna Sweett came up from behind Peter and wrapped her arms around him. He looked a little surprised but didn't move. Betty watched with raised eyebrows. 

"Hey, Peter!" She said excitedly. Betty suddenly felt her gut clench. 

"Hi." He said flatly, obviously uncomfortable. She removed her arms from around him and then moved so she was facing him, standing in front of Betty. Betty scoffed in disbelief. 

"I just wanted to thank you for tutoring me, my grade has already begun to go up." She said. 

"You're tutoring her?" Betty asked spitefully. Both Peter and Donna looked at her. Donna looked at her as if she hadn't noticed her standing there before. 

"Oh, hey there, Betty." She said with a smile. Betty only glared at her. She hated Donna Sweett. Ever since she transferred to Riverdale high from Stonewall Prep, she hadn't liked Donna. She was a bitch to everyone. But Betty especially. Which was why she found it so strange that she was being so nice to Peter. Betty looked between the two, before rolling her eyes and shaking her head. 

"Okay, whatever. Bye." She said, walking past them and down the hall. 

"Wait, Betty-" She heard Peter say behind her, but then she heard Donna quickly begin to talk to him again. Betty filled Veronica's ear with the whole situation later, when they had cheer practice. 

"She's obviously using him to do her homework." Betty said to Veronica as they stretched. 

"I thought he was tutoring her." Veronica said flatly. 

"Is he really tutoring her or is he doing her homework without realizing it?" Betty asked. Veronica rolled her eyes. 

"Why do you care, anyway? I thought you didn't like Peter." 

"I do not dislike Peter." Betty said defensively. 

"You're right, sorry I forgot you went home with him the other night." 

"Are we seriously going to have the whole conversation where I have to convince you nothing happened?" Betty asked incredulously. Veronica shook her head. 

"Nope." 

"Anyway, Donna's pure evil." 

"You're only saying that because she had a crush on Jughead last year." Veronica said. "You know, you're kind of more jealous than people think." 

"You think I'm jealous?" Betty asked. Veronica looked at her, with her eyebrows raised. "You think I'm jealous because Peter's tutoring her?" 

"Are you?" 

"No." Betty said quickly. 

"Then no. I don't think you're jealous." Veronica said dismissively. 

"Good. Because I'm not. I'm just saying, someone like Peter shouldn't be hanging out with people like Donna." 

"You realize you're talking about a seventeen-year-old boy, right? Peter can take care of himself. It's none of your business, Betty. They would make a cute couple." 

"You think they're together?" Betty asked, bewildered. Veronica let out a laugh. 

"Why do you care so much?" She asked through her laughter. Betty put her hands up in defeat. 

"I don't. I'll drop it." Betty said. 

"Okay, listen up!" Cheryl called. Toni stood next to her by the bleachers. Everyone stood up and looked at her, waiting for what she had to say. "The game next Friday is canceled." She said, not looking too happy about the news herself. "I don't see a need to practice, as it was supposed to be the last game of the season." A bunch of groans came from the girls. 

"Wait, they aren't rescheduling?" Betty asked. Cheryl shrugged. 

"I'm not sure. They didn't tell me that. I just know that there's supposed to be this huge blizzard." She explained. 

"So soon?" Veronica asked, although it was the beginning of December, it was normal timing. 

"Do I look like the weather woman, Veronica?" Cheryl snapped. "Go home. All of you." She said, walking away with Toni trailing behind her. Betty and Veronica both left the gym, heading towards the girl's locker room. 

"Great, a blizzard next week. You think school's going to get canceled?" Veronica asked as Betty opened up her locker. 

"I don't know. I don't want to have to drive in it. I might just catch a ride with Archie. His car can probably get through it." Betty said, shutting her locker after she took her clothes out. Veronica shrugged. 

"Good idea." Veronica said. They went their separate ways, and Betty drove herself home.

It wasn't until Wednesday the next week that the blizzard really hit. But when Betty woke up in the morning, it was bright out and had been lightly snowing outside. By her last period, it had started to darken outside, and it was snowing much more. Her teacher had even announced that school was getting out early, and there would be no school for the rest of the week. But Betty didn't leave right away. She went to the Blue and Gold room where she found Kevin. He looked up from what he was doing, sitting at a desk, and smiled at Betty. 

"Hey, Betts. I was just leaving. You should, too. It's getting a little scary out there." He said. He was right. They could both hear the howling of wind from outside, loud and fierce. She wasn't all that scared, though. 

"I'm actually going to stay a bit, but thanks." She said. Kevin shrugged, getting up and grabbing his backpack. 

"Alright, suit yourself. Call me when you get home, okay?" He asked. Betty nodded, smiling softly. Kevin left, and she sat down, opening her laptop, and beginning to look at the Blue and Gold website. Jughead had left the Blue and Gold two weeks earlier. Of course, he told Kevin he was leaving, and not Betty. She wasn't surprised.

She stayed for an hour, before looking outside, and seeing that the snow was beginning to pile up. She let out a sigh and grabbed her stuff, putting them in her backpack before walking towards the entrance. The school seemed completely empty by then. Betty opened the front doors and then pulled her jacket tighter around herself. It was freezing. She walked through the deepening snow to the parking lot, where her car was. She had to do her best to wipe some ice off her car before getting in. 

She quickly turned the heat on after getting in her car, and breathed out, hearing her own teeth chattering. She rubbed her hands together, turning her brights on. It was dark by then, and it was a bit hard to see in the snow. She began to drive slowly, pulling out of the parking lot and getting on the road. Or, what she hoped was the road. It was only ten minutes later when she saw a dark figure walking by the side of the road. 

She squinted her eyes and slowed the car down. Whoever it was, was wearing a hood and a backpack. The figure turned around, towards the headlights, and Betty realized who it was. It was Peter. She pulled up next to him, and stopped, rolling down her window. 

"Peter?" She asked. He came over to the car and leaned down so he was in front of the window. "What are you doing out here? It's freezing." She said although it didn't look like he was all that cold. He seemed perfectly fine. "Get in the car." 

"I was just-" He began, but Betty wasn't having it. 

"Get in the car." She said more firmly. Peter let out a sigh, and opened the door, getting in. Betty quickly rolled down the window. Peter let out a shaky breath and leaned more towards where the heat was coming from. Betty rolled her eyes before beginning to move the car again. "You're crazy." She said. 

"That's not the first time I've been called that." Peter said. Betty glanced over at him and then back at the road. 

"Seriously, what were you doing?" She asked. Peter grew quiet, and just as he opened his mouth to answer, Betty thrust forward in her seat and the car came to a stop. 

"What happened?" Peter asked. Betty frowned and pressed on the gas. The car revved but they didn't move. 

"Shit!" She yelled. "I think it's the snow." 

"I'll fix it. Wait here." Peter said, getting out of the car before she could respond, and shutting the door behind him. She waited, for five minutes. He came back, shutting the door behind him as he got in the car. 

"It's not the snow." He said. Betty raised an eyebrow. "Someone jabbed a sharp object in two of your tires. Whatever they used is gone." 

"You're kidding me." She said, her voice rising. Peter stayed silent. "God damn it!" She hit her steering wheel. She took her phone out and attempted to call Charles or even a towing company. There was no signal. She let out an exasperated sigh. "Give me your phone." She said. Peter looked at her nervously. 

"I don't have my phone." He said. She frowned. 

"Where's your phone?" 

"I... Lost it." He said, nervously. 

"You lost your phone?" Betty yelled. "How do you lose a phone?" 

"Look, it will be fine. I'll just go get help." He said, opening his door. Betty quickly grabbed his arm, and he looked over his shoulder. 

"Peter, wait. You'll freeze to death." She said. 

"I'll be fine." He said dismissively, before beginning to get out of the car. 

"Please don't leave me here." She said quickly. He turned and looked at her, with a confused look on his face. "What if someone comes? Like, a not so good person? Please just stay with me until another car passes us." Peter stared at her for another minute before letting out a sigh. It was as if he had somewhere to be. Or something to do. He nodded and shut the door as he got back in the car. 

"I'm not going anywhere." He assured her. Betty felt herself relax. 

"Good." She whispered, leaning back in her seat. 

"We should turn the car off." Peter said. Betty sat up in alarm. 

"What? Are you crazy?" 

"Listen, we could be here all night and if your car battery dies, it would be worse than turning it off, every once in a while. You can turn it back on in a little bit." He said. Betty thought about that. She had worked with cars with her dad for a long time. Peter was right, having the heat cranked up for seven to eight hours was bad. She nodded, and then turned the keys, turning the car off. It went dark with the headlights off. 

Betty had leaned back in her seat and listened as the car went quiet. Peter didn't seem in a mood for talking. It must have been like that for thirty minutes when Betty looked over at Peter. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, and she could see him. She didn't get it. He seemed so unbothered and comfortable. His eyes were closed, and his head leaned back. She couldn't tell if he was asleep or not. 

She had been chattering her teeth, even in her jacket. With the heat off, it had gotten even colder. She shivered and chattered her teeth, uncontrollably. Peter let out a groan, and she looked at him. She really thought he was asleep. He opened his eyes and began to take his sweatshirt off. Betty widened her eyes. 

"What are you doing?" She asked, panicked. She didn't want him to die right next to her of hypothermia. 

"Giving you my sweatshirt." 

"Peter, no. What is wrong with you? Do you have a death wish?" 

"I'll be fine." 

"I don't think you know how the human body works." 

"Betty, I can't listen to you shiver anymore. Please, just put on my sweatshirt." He said, holding it out for her to take. Betty glanced at the sweatshirt, and then back at his eyes. He had been wearing a thick-long sleeved shirt. 

"Aren't you cold?" She asked. Peter smiled. 

"I'm freezing." He said softly. Betty rolled her eyes and then took his sweatshirt, putting it on herself. She couldn't help but take notice of how much it smelt like him. The smell comforted her. She felt a lot warmer. 

"Why aren't you... Acting cold?" She asked him. His eyes were closed again, and his head was leaning back against the headrest. 

"Do you want me to act cold?" He asked. Betty didn't respond. She began to calm down, and silence filled the space again. 

"Do you miss your parents?" Betty suddenly asked. She watched as Peter opened his eyes and stiffened, before relaxing again. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I asked that." 

"It's okay." Peter quietly. "I don't remember them. Not really. I mean, sometimes I get these tiny glimpses. I was four when they died." He shrugged, looking out the windshield. 

"How did they die? If you don't mind me asking." She said. 

"It was a plane crash." Peter answered, looking at her. She looked away from him, looking out the windshield at the blackness outside. 

"That's terrible." She said. Peter didn't say anything. It grew silent again. It wasn't an awkward silence. It was a nice one. 

"Uh, I remember Ben and May, telling me how shocked and unprepared they were when social services showed up at their doorstep with a four-year-old boy. I mean, they knew my parents died... But they weren't expecting that." Peter said, with a small smile on his face as he looked down. "They were only twenty-five, and they had to throw out all their bongs." Betty raised her eyebrows at that. 

"Wow." She said, beginning to smile. 

"What?" He asked. 

"I just... Couldn't see you smoking pot. You must be really like your parents, then." She said, laughing a little. 

"My dad was a scientist." He said softly. 

"See now that, makes a lot of sense." She said, making Peter begin to laugh. 

"Why are you asking so much about me?" Peter asked, suddenly. "I thought you didn't like me." 

"Why is everyone saying that? That's not true, Peter. I get frustrated sometimes." She said. Peter looked out his window. "I'm sorry I've said some things to you I don't mean. And I'm sorry I was kind of rude to you when you first got here." 

"I had that coming." He said honestly. "You were just trying to be nice to me." 

"Yeah, well. You're like the nicest person I think I've ever met." She mumbled. Peter looked at her, after hearing that. 

"I'm not that nice." He said. 

"You're a good person, Peter." She said, looking up at him. "Seriously. All my life... I know there's some darkness in me. There's darkness in everyone. I'm surrounded by people with some part of them that isn't good. But you're different. There's nothing dark about you. Never lose that." He smiled softly at her, and she watched as a single brown curl fell on his forehead. 

Betty looked out her window, and squinted her eyes, only seeing blackness and the white flakes of snow. When she looked at Peter again, his eyes were closed again. She decided not to bother him anymore. He seemed tired. Another half an hour passed, and she couldn't sleep.

Betty glanced at Peter, and then crawled to the backseat, laying down on her side, and closing her eyes. She doubted anybody would be coming that night. In the morning someone would come. But no matter, how hard she tried, she couldn't sleep. She was beginning to shiver again. The temperature was dropping. She was convinced Peter was asleep. Or faking it.

Another twenty minutes later, and her teeth were beginning to chatter again. She couldn't stay still. She opened her eyes and looked up at the front seat. Peter's eyes were open, and he looked like he was on guard. He was staring out the windshield as if looking for something. All Betty could think about was how cold she was. Even Peter looked like he was starting to shiver. 

"Peter?" She said softly. He looked in the rearview mirror at her. "Can you... Can you please come back here?" She said slowly, finding it harder to talk. He hesitated, not saying anything. He didn't move either. "Please, Peter. I'm so... I'm so cold." She breathed out. He nodded slowly. 

"Alright, alright. Yeah." He said. Betty moved, sitting on the floor as he got to the back, and slowly laid down on the back seat. Betty laid down in front of him, her back facing his front. He hesitated, before wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close, rubbing her arm gently. She began to relax, and feel more warmth in his arms. 

"You're so warm." She breathed out. 

"Is this better?" He whispered in her ear. She nodded. 

"Thank you." She said quietly, feeling herself drift off to sleep. She woke up a few times throughout the night, not sure exactly where she was. But she would feel the tight grip of Peter's arm around her and remember. And then she would drift off to sleep again. 

When she woke up for a final time, it was morning and bright out. Betty felt stiff, and tightly in place. She remembered why. She looked down, and saw Peter's arm, pulling her close to him tightly. She could feel his soft breath on the back of her neck, feeling him breathe easily as he slept. She tried to move, but couldn't. It hurt just the tiniest bit, but it didn't bother Betty. She continued, to wiggle around, trying to get out of his grip. It seemed impossible. She began to giggle. It was nice, though. She felt comfortable in his arms. He made her feel safe. 

"Peter, let me go." She said, her voice full of laughter as she continued to move. He let out a low groan, as he began to move and wake up. Betty continued to giggle, and move. Suddenly, she froze, frowning. 

"What..." Peter said groggily. "Betty?" She squeezed her eyes shut, blushing. She felt something firm, against her lower back. 

"Peter... Are you-" 

"Ah!" He let go of her, and sat up, scrambling away. Betty fell on the floor of the car and looked up at him. His face was red. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." He began to say. Betty looked away from him. 

"It's fine." She said softly, taking off his sweatshirt, and handing it to him. He quickly took it and balled it up before shoving it between his legs. 

"Betty, I didn't mean to- I'm so sorry." He said with his eyes closed. Betty began to laugh, shaking her head. 

"It's fine. I know you didn't mean to. Let's just forget about it, okay?" She said, sitting on the seat next to him. He nodded, and ran a hand through his hair, before looking at her, with a soft expression. 

"Are you okay?" He asked, in a genuine voice. She looked at him and smiled. "I just... You were so cold last night. Maybe you should go to the doctor to make sure-" 

"I'm fine. I should be worried about you. I don't know how you aren't dead." She said. Peter only shrugged. Suddenly, his head snapped to the window, before there was a loud knock, causing Betty to jump. She raised an eyebrow at Peter and then looked to see who was outside. It was Tom Keller, in full uniform. She reached over Peter and pressed the button that rolled the window down. Tom leaned down to look at both of them. 

"Are you kids okay?" He asked, looking between Peter and Betty. Peter still looked a little flustered. Betty nodded. 

"Yeah, we're fine, sheriff. I think we need a tow. My tires have been slashed." She explained. 

"Alright, I can give you both a ride home. I'll have a tow truck come get your car." He said. Betty smiled her appreciation and rolled up the window, before looking at Peter. 

"Please, put your sweatshirt on." She said before her eyes drifted down. "Whenever you're ready." She smiled sarcastically and patted his shoulder, before opening her door. 

"It's not funny!" Peter called, as she got out. She giggled, before closing the door behind her. 

Five minutes later, they were both in the back of sheriff Keller's squad car. Betty couldn't help but notice the dark crescent moons under Peter's eyes, and the way he tiredly looked out his window. 

"Did you get any sleep last night?" She asked. He looked at her, with that tired look. 

"Uh, a little bit." He said quietly.

"I'm sorry." 

"It's not your fault. I didn't want to... I tried not to fall asleep." He said. Betty frowned. She remembered pulling up next to Peter the night before. He was looking for something. He had his backpack, although he could have gotten home and put his backpack away. He had so much time. She glanced at his backpack sitting on the seat between them, wondering if there were really pens and notebooks inside, and then glanced back up at him. And the way he was about to leave, so quickly as if he had somewhere to be. He seemed to read her thoughts because he began to look a little nervous. 

"What were you protecting me from?" Betty whispered. Peter raised his eyebrows in surprise and then furrowed them. Suddenly the car came to a stop. 

"Alright, we're here." Tom Keller announced from the front. Peter nodded. 

"Thank you, sheriff." He said, and then looked at Betty. "Bye, Betty." He said softly, before grabbing his backpack and opening his door, getting out of the car. Betty got out and shut the door behind her as she watched May come out of the house before Peter could even reach the door, and quickly wrap his arms around his neck, pulling him close. Peter looked so used to it.

Betty grabbed her own backpack and walked over to her house. Charles and Polly had been outside. Polly nodded at Betty, and Charles turned to see her. He was in his uniform. 

"Oh, thank god." He said, letting out a sigh. "Jesus, where were you?" He suddenly frowned and looked over at the house next to them. Peter and May had gone inside. "Why were you and Parker in the back of Tom Keller's cruiser?" He asked. Polly whistled. 

"Damn, Betty you move on fast." She said, laughing lightly. Betty glared at her sister and felt her nostrils begin to flare. "I mean, I don't blame you..." She said, looking over at the Andrews' house. "I guess you have a thing for puppies." 

"Fuck you, Polly." Betty snapped. 

"Seriously, shut up, Pol. What happened?" Charles asked again. 

"My car broke down, and I was giving him a ride from home, you assholes." Betty snapped, shoving past both of them and into the house. She heard Polly laughing behind her.

Betty was met immediately by her parents in the house, and she spent half an hour explaining every single detail of her night to them. Of course, she left out the details of spooning in the back of her car with Peter. She wouldn't dare tell any of her family members about that. Especially Alice and Polly. Alice would spend an hour explaining how ignorant and inappropriate that was, and Polly would just make jokes. When she was done, she was let off the hook, thankfully. She felt so exhausted, that she slept the rest of the day. 

The next day, Veronica decided a movie night at her house was in order, since there would be no school. Of course, Betty showed up an hour earlier than everyone else was supposed to. She had to tell Veronica everything about her experience. Even the parts she left out to her parents. 

"Well damn, Betty. I didn't think you were the type of girl to pull the 'Oh my god I'm so cold please come and cuddle with me' card." Veronica said as she poured a bag of popcorn into a bowl. Betty frowned at that and rolled her eyes. 

"First of all, I'm pretty sure it was in the negatives. I was _freezing_ , second of all, ew. And third, did you listen to the part where I said he didn't seem cold at all? He only started shivering a little bit, but he was wearing a sweater and jeans. That's it." 

"Betty, you blow everything out of proportion. Let your guard down, come on." Veronica said, exasperated. She walked into the kitchen and threw the popcorn bag out. 

"Okay, so Peter is so nice, right? Does he seem nice to you?" Betty asked. Veronica raised an eyebrow. 

"Yeah, he's a pretty nice guy... I'm waiting for your point." 

"So, you don't think he has any skeletons in his closet?" 

"Nobody says that anymore." Veronica said, walking back into the living room. Betty followed her. 

"Answer the question." Betty prompted. 

"I don't know." Veronica sighed. "It's none of our business. Look, I don't want to sound insensitive, Betts I love you. You should know that. But this town has put your mindset in such a bad place that you are convinced that Peter is... What do you think he is, again?" 

"I don't know, Ronnie. But who doesn't get cold in a blizzard?" 

"Well, apparently he was cold. You just told me that. This is a stupid argument." 

"It's not just that. It's also the fact that... He sees everything a second before it happens." Betty said. Veronica frowned. 

"What do you mean?" 

"If... I was to touch his shoulder, he would turn around before I touch his shoulder. I've seen it a million times." 

"Betty, you aren't making sense. Everyone does that. It's like the feeling when you know someone's watching you. It's all in your brain." 

"He's hiding something. He disappears all the time." 

"You're being paranoid." Veronica said. 

"I've been right about every single one of my other bad feelings." Betty said. 

"Okay. You're right. Peter's a vampire." Veronica said sarcastically. Betty glared at her. "Oh, wait he can go out in the sun. Maybe he's a werewolf?" 

"You aren't funny." Betty said flatly. 

"Betts, listen. You're looking for a project. And I understand it, you like projects." Veronica said slowly. Betty furrowed her eyebrows. "But this is getting out of hand. I mean, going on his school website? That's weird. Are you doing background checks now?" 

"How did you know about that?" Betty asked. Veronica went silent. "Kevin told you." 

"You're focusing on the tiniest little things. It's unhealthy, and I'm worried about you." 

"Stop. Don't do that. Do not talk to me like I'm a crazy person." Betty snapped. Veronica nodded. 

"I'm asking you as someone who loves you very much. Drop it." Veronica said. Then she let out a sigh. "Or else I'm going to tell Peter about your suspicions." 

"What?" Betty said, alarmed. "Why would you do that?" 

"So he can tell you himself that you are wrong!" Veronica said quickly. "Just ask him." Betty shook her head. 

"You know what? You're right." She said softly. Veronica looked defeated. 

"Betts-" 

"No, you're right. I'm going to say what we're both thinking. I'm only doing this to distract myself from the fact there's possibly another murderer in Riverdale, and I miss Jughead. I could never be with him again, I mean, it wouldn't be the same. But I miss him." She shrugged. Veronica closed her eyes and put a hand on her forehead. 

"I didn't mean to upset you." She said honestly. 

"You didn't. I'm just not feeling up for movie night. I'm sorry I've just been so paranoid." 

"Please don't go." Veronica said, rushing her words. 

"V, I can't tonight." She said, walking past her friend, and towards the front door of the apartment. Veronica didn't say anything as she left. She walked down the hall, and took a turn, crashing into someone. She winced and looked up to see Peter and Archie. She had run into Peter. 

"Hey, Betty. Where are you going?" Archie asked, but Betty was looking at Peter. He had a smile on his face from something Archie had said, but his smile faded as he looked at her. 

"What's wrong?" He asked softly. She only glared at him. 

"Nothing. Nothing at all." She said, shoving past him. 

"Betty!" Peter called, but she ignored him, going into the elevator. She heard Archie laugh lightly. 

"What did you do?" Archie asked humorously. 

"I don't know." Peter responded, his voice sounding confused.

Betty had told Veronica that she was going to let it go, but of course, she wasn't. Peter had been on guard the other night as if someone would come at any moment. Someone dangerous. He sometimes skipped school, even though he wasn't the type to skip school. She knew he wasn't doing it for fun. Sometimes, he went missing for a few hours, and nobody knew where he was. He always had his backpack with him. And she was going to find out what exactly it was, that he was hiding. 


	10. A Sticky Encounter

It had still been cold in Riverdale, but it wasn't as cold as the night of the blizzard. It was a Saturday evening, and Betty had been in her room, getting ready to go into town. There had been a carnival there for a week, and she was going to meet Veronica there. She had thought long and hard about how she had been completely overthinking and overreacting about the whole Peter thing. She dropped it. Both Veronica and Kevin were right. 

Betty looked in her mirror, at her fringe skirt and black shirt tucked in. She walked over to her bed and picked up her jean jacket from her bed, putting it on. She froze, in front of her window, and looked up. Peter was in front of the window across the way, but he was looking at a mirror. He took his shirt off, and Betty was about to close the curtains, but she stiffened. There was a giant bruise on Peter's torso. He winced and looked in the mirror at it. 

Betty shook her head. _I don't want to know_ , she thought. Peter's eyes drifted to the window, and Betty quickly moved away from her window. She turned her lights off before grabbing her purse and leaving her room. She was learning how to mind her business. Something she wasn't used to, living in the murder capital of the world. How could she? 

"Hey, sweetie. Are you going into town?" Alice asked, sitting at the dining room table. The sun was just beginning to set. Betty nodded. 

"Yeah, I was going to walk. It's not that far away." 

"Can you go with Polly? She's going, too." Alice said. Betty looked at Polly, in the kitchen. She had dark red lipstick on and was wearing a black leather jacket. Betty let out a sigh and nodded. 

"Yeah." She muttered. She had decided not to put her hair up that night, she left it down, water-falling over her shoulders. 

"Let's go." Polly said sternly. "Places to be, Betty, places to be." Betty rolled her eyes and walked toward the front door with Polly behind her. They left the house. They walked down the driveway, but Betty stopped when Polly began going in the opposite direction of town. 

"What are you doing?" Betty called. 

"Did you really think I was going to go to some stupid carnival? I'm going to the southside. Maybe you'll see me there later." She shrugged. 

"Polly, don't!" Betty called, but that only earned her the middle finger. Betty rolled her eyes and decided it wasn't her problem. Instead, she decided to walk to town. It was getting dark, anyway. As betty approached the many lights, she saw lots of people she knew from school. Just no Veronica. She wandered around a little, looking around for one of her friends. 

She thought the whole carnival looked pretty, with all the lights. There was a giant Ferris wheel and loud music, but it wasn't so loud where you couldn't hear people talking. Betty had always loved going to the carnival as a little girl. The last time she went had been with Jughead.

She let out a sigh, squinting through the crowds of people. By then she had been in the middle of the carnival. She jumped and quickly turned around when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief when it was just Peter. 

"You're jumpy." He said, earning a glare from her. 

"I thought I told you to stop doing that. Do you need a bell?" She studied him and then frowned. He had been wearing blue jeans and another sweater over a white t-shirt. His hair had been neatly tamed. "How did you get here so fast?" 

"What do you mean?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. 

"Well... I saw you at your house. I left before you, and I just got here a few minutes ago. How did you get here so fast?" 

"How did you know I was at home?" He asked, laughing a little. Betty was about to answer that she saw him through her window but quickly closed her mouth. 

"Never mind." She said dismissively. "You like to make a point of how antisocial you are, and then come to things like these, you know." She said. She had to raise her voice a bit so he could hear her over the music. 

"I'm not antisocial." He said, pointedly. "Are you mad at me?" 

"Why would I be mad at you?" 

"You've been avoiding me." 

"I haven't been avoiding you." Betty said defensively. 

"Listen, if this is because of... My- The car-" Peter was about to finish his sentence but Betty quickly cut him off. 

"I told you we aren't ever going to talk about that again. And I'm not mad at you. I promise." She said, smiling at him. "I actually want to thank you." He frowned at that. 

"For what?"

"Honestly? This might sound overdramatic, but I think I would have frozen to death if you hadn't been in the car with me. Or gotten Hypothermia. I don't know how you didn't get sick, and I don't want to know. But thank you." She said, with a smile. 

"You're welcome. Even though I had no intention of being in the car with you in the first place." He said, causing Betty to laugh. Peter was smiling himself. Suddenly, Betty heard a clicking sound and turned her head. Cheryl Blossom had just taken a picture of them. Toni was standing next to her. 

"Aww, this is going in the yearbook." She said, smiling with her painted red lips. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"What are you doing, Cheryl?" 

"Announcing Riverdale High's newest couple." She said happily. 

"We're just friends." Betty said flatly. Peter awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and looked into the distance as if he wanted to leave suddenly. 

"That will change soon." Cheryl said with a shrug. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"Come on." She said, surprising Peter by taking his hand and walking away. Peter just let her drag him away with no protests. They found Veronica and Archie, five minutes later. Archie had been staring at Peter. 

"I thought you said you weren't coming." He said. Peter shrugged. 

"I changed my mind." He said simply. Then, he looked around as if he was looking for someone. Archie shook his head and then looked at Betty. 

"Look, uh, I think we should go." Archie said, looking at Betty. Betty laughed at that and looked at Veronica. She looked nervous. 

"Why? What's going on, guys?" She asked, feeling her gut clench. 

"It's just..." Archie and Veronica looked at each other. "There's a lot of talk right now." 

"Talk about what?" 

"Reggie's saying that you guys slept together." Veronica said. Peter was looking at Betty now, and Betty suddenly felt small. 

"He... He is?" She asked in a small voice. 

"Nobody believes it." Archie said quickly. 

"Is he here?" Betty asked. Archie went silent. "And you didn't say it was a lie? You didn't defend me?" Betty yelled. 

"I tried, Betts-" 

"Fuck you." She spat, turning away from him and starting to walk away. She could feel Peter following her. 

"Betty, let me walk you home." He said quickly. 

"I'm not going home." She said. 

"Where are you going?"

"To find Reggie!" She yelled. Suddenly Peter grabbed her arm and got in front of her. He wasn't rough with her, it was a gentle gesture. 

"You don't want to do that." He said. 

"Why not?" 

"It will only make the situation worse. Just calm down, okay? You can be mad at Archie but don't do anything irrational right now." Peter said. Betty closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Do you want me to walk you home?" Peter asked in a soft tone. 

"I don't want to go home." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. Peter put his hands in his pockets and looked around. It was quiet for a moment. 

"You want to walk around?" He asked her. She nodded silently, and Peter smiled. "Alright, we can do that." He moved out of her way, so he was next to her, and they started walking. Betty slowly took his hand, putting him off guard for the second time that night. He held her hand nonetheless. It was silent for a few minutes, besides the chatter and music as they walked. 

"I'm mad at Archie." Betty said flatly. Peter glanced at Betty, and then looked straight ahead. 

"I know." 

"Reggie is his best friend. He's supposed to keep a leash on him." Betty said spitefully. 

"I broke Reggie's nose. But it was an accident." Peter said. Betty looked at him and then burst into a fit of giggles. Peter smiled at the ground. 

"How did you manage that?" 

"He attacked me, and it just happened. Do you want to know the funniest part? It was in the boy's bathroom." He said, shaking his head as he said it. Betty laughed harder at the last part. 

"Oh my god." She breathed, trying to catch her breath. 

"Do you want me to beat him up?" Peter asked. Betty nodded. 

"Please do." She said softly. Suddenly she stopped walking, and Peter stopped with her. He followed her line of sight to a group of Serpents. It was Jughead, Toni, and Sweet Pea. Cheryl was with them. Jughead caught sight of Betty and Peter, and Betty quickly let go of Peter's hand. "We should go." She said, quickly turning around and beginning to walk. Peter took one last look at Jughead and then began to follow Betty. 

"Seriously, Betty?" Jughead yelled, starting towards the two. Betty stopped and squeezed her eyes shut, before turning around and looking at Jughead. The other Serpents were following him. 

"What?" 

"First Reggie, now Peter. I'm so glad you're having fun." He said, laughing. Betty could already tell he had been drinking. 

"Hey, it's not like that." Peter said quickly. Betty glared at him, telling him not to talk, with her eyes. She then looked back at Jughead. 

"You aren't my boyfriend. I can do what I want." Betty said, turning around. Jughead suddenly grabbed her wrist and made her face him. 

"No, you can't do what you want. I'm sick of Reggie telling me how good it was to fuck _my_ girlfriend." He hissed in her face. She could smell the whiskey on his breath. Betty's breathing began to pick up. 

"Jughead!" Toni yelled. Suddenly Peter grabbed Jughead's shoulder, pulling him off of her roughly. This only seemed to piss Jughead off all the more. 

"Don't touch her." Peter snapped, getting in his face. Jughead shoved him back. Betty felt panic rising in her chest. Suddenly it seemed like the whole school was there. Veronica and Archie had just arrived, and Reggie was there. Archie looked like he was in shock at what he was seeing. 

"Aw, look. Are you protecting her?" Jughead asked, laughing. Peter's nostrils were flaring in anger, and he was glaring venomously at Jughead. Jughead shoved him, hard. "Come on. You want to act all tough?" He continued to shove Peter roughly, but Peter made no attempt to fight back. "You're all talk. That's why you follow Betty around, like her pet." Jughead said, shoving Peter again. 

"Jughead, stop!" Betty yelled. 

"Come on, hit me." Jughead said, giving Peter another shove. He suddenly raised his fist, ready to punch Peter. The next thing that happened, shocked everyone. Peter stopped him, grabbing his fist with one hand, and punching Jughead so hard in the face, that he dropped to the floor unconscious. Betty gasped and covered her mouth with her hand in shock. It didn't look like it took a lot of effort. Peter didn't seem fazed in the slightest. He only looked mad. Blood was coming out of Jughead's nose. Peter looked down at Jughead's unconscious body, with spite. 

"What did you do?" Betty yelled at him. Peter looked at her, and his face softened. Betty got on her knees next to Jughead and moved his head so it was on her lap. Toni was on the other side of him. 

"Jesus, that's a lot of blood." Toni muttered. Archie was walking towards Peter, but suddenly he looked like a wounded animal. All the Serpents were looking at him as if they were planning his murder. Betty looked up at Peter. Archie was talking to him, but he wasn't looking at Archie. He was looking at Jughead, his chest rising up and down. He began to back away. Suddenly, he turned around and began to walk away at a fast pace. 

"Peter, wait!" Betty called, but he wasn't coming back. 

"Betty." Toni said in a low voice. Betty looked at her. "Jughead's going to be fine. But you need to get to the Whyte Wyrm. Your sister is... Just go. I'll make sure Jug is fine." Betty stared at Toni for a moment, confused. She finally nodded and got up. She went in the direction Peter had gone, going as fast as she could to see if she could catch up with him. But it was no use, Peter was gone. 

Betty ran her hands through her hair in frustration. She figured she would talk to Peter. Although, she couldn't decide if she was mad at him or worried about him. It looked like he really hadn't wanted to hurt Jughead. She was just having a hard time believing Peter Parker knocked Jughead out with one punch. 

She shook these thoughts out of her head and wondered if she should walk home and get her car. She decided on walking. The Whyte Wyrm was in the Southside, but it really wasn't that far. Riverdale wasn't a big town itself.

It took her fifteen minutes to get to the Whyte Wyrm, but it felt more like five to Betty. She had a lot to think about. She walked in with no problem, and ignored the dirty looks and stares she got. It had been really dark out by then. She walked straight to the bar. 

The bar hadn't changed much. It had the two pool tables, with some of the balls missing on each table. It had been filled with smoke and smelled like alcohol. Almost everyone in the bar was wearing a leather jacket with a green snake embroidered on the back. Loud heavy metal music filled the area. 

"Hey, Betts." FP said, walking over to her. He looked around the bar before looking at her. "What are you doing here?" He whispered. 

"Where's my sister?" She asked. 

"I just got here." He said. Betty turned away from him and began to walk away. "Hey, Betty!" He called, but she ignored him. Betty looked around the bar, before starting towards a familiar face. She walked over to the table where Malachi had been sitting at. 

"What did you do with my sister?" She snapped. Malachi looked at her, and a grin spread across his face. 

"Little Cooper. Why don't you take a seat on my lap and I'll tell you?" He said, patting his thighs. Betty felt disgusted. 

"You're sick. What are you even doing here? You're a Ghoulie." She snapped. 

"I'm welcome here, Little Coop. As for Polly, I think she was having too good a time. I had to let her down gently." He shrugged. 

"What does that mean?" Betty asked. Malachi didn't respond. "What does that mean, Malachi?" Betty yelled. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see FP Jones. 

"Betty, it's time for you to go." He said. Betty glared at him. 

"Not until I know Polly is safe!" She snapped. 

"Betty. Go." FP said sternly. She looked into his eyes and saw he was desperately trying to tell her something. Betty didn't trust Jughead. In fact, she was beginning not to trust him, even more, each day. Her love for him was disappearing. But FP Jones was a good man. She knew that much. She nodded slowly. 

"Fine." She said, shoving past him and leaving through the back. She stood outside in the alleyway, and yelled out, kicking the wall. It was beginning to rain. She fell to her knees and felt hot tears coming out of her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't stop them. She squeezed her eyes shut and ran her hands through her hair. She sat there for a moment, getting soaked by the rain. 

After a few minutes, she sniffed and stood up. She had to get home. She needed to separate herself from the world for a bit. She began walking, her hands bunched into fists at her sides. She walked for two minutes before hearing footsteps behind her. She turned her head, looking over her shoulder, to see three men in leather jackets. Serpents. She turned her head back to see in front of her and began walking a little faster. She heard the voices behind her. 

"Wait, hold on. Is that Little Cooper?" One of them said, sounding excited. Betty was ready to run. "Hey! Betty!" Another one yelled, and they all laughed. Betty felt her breathing quicken. They were suddenly right there. One of them grabbed her shoulder, and she looked at them, slightly panicked. 

"Hold on, I heard she's not with Jug anymore." The third one said, smiling at his two friends. She tried to get out of the first man's grip, but he wouldn't let her go. 

"Oh... So she has nobody to protect her." The oldest one said. 

"Let me go!" She yelled, and they all snickered. The oldest one shoved her against the wall of the alleyway, getting close to her. 

"You aren't a Serpent anymore. That means I can do whatever I want with you. Remember that sexy dance you did last year on the stage?" His mouth got close to her face, and she squeezed her eyes shut, turning her head away. She heard the pattering of the rain against the pavement, and the sound of the mans breathing. She wished she had been at home, in her bed. Alone. 

When she heard a zipping sound, she opened her eyes and looked down, to see the man unzipping her pants. She gasped, and with all her might, kneed him in the groin. He yelled out, and let go of her. She shoved him back and took off running. She ran as fast as she could, but they were faster. 

One of them grabbed her again, and she began kicking her legs as he picked her up. She even started screaming and pumping her fists. She felt a punch to the face, but she didn't give up. 

"Let me go!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. 

"Shut her up!" One of the men yelled, sounding panicked. Suddenly, she felt pain all over one side of her head, by her forehead. She felt her limbs begin to weaken. She realized that one of the men had hit her in the head with a rock. Her vision began to go blurry. The man who picked her up dropped her on the floor. 

"What did you do?" The oldest yelled. 

"Who cares? She's still alive, isn't she?" The one who hit her said. She couldn't see very well. She saw the concrete floor, being pounded with rain. She watched as the three pairs of feet walked toward her. This was it, she thought. _I'm really going to die_ , she thought. Suddenly, there was a loud sound. It was like, something hitting the floor really hard. All the men stopped. 

"Oh my god." One said in a low voice. Betty closed her eyes. Her eyelids felt so heavy. She heard a bunch of noises, like punching noises. She heard a hissing sound, followed by a splattering sound. She opened her eyes, her vision still blurry. She saw webs. So many webs. Spider webs. Flashes of bright red, and dark blue. There was a lot of groaning noises, coming from the men. One even screamed out in pain.

Betty made one last attempt to see clearly, opening her eyes wider with all her strength. Two of the men were unconscious, laying on the floor. But they wouldn't be able to leave if they were awake. Their hands and feet were webbed to the ground. The third man was half awake, but he was webbed to the wall. She looked up, to see a shocking sight. Spider-Man. Her vision got blurry again. He was gently moving her, moving her into his arms. 

"It's okay. You're okay, you're okay. I'm here." He kept saying. She barely heard him. She was too out of it to really listen to his voice. She could feel herself, drifting away. "You're going to be okay." He said again. He sounded upset. She knew that. His voice was shaky. He picked her up, wrapping her arm around his neck. The last thing she saw before closing her eyes was the two white eyes in the mask of his suit. She could feel the spandex against her skin. She was fully unconscious the next second. She met darkness. 

The next time she woke up, her whole body felt so weak. She still felt so tired, like she could pass out again any second. She couldn't even move her body. It hurt too much. Her head hurt the most. She felt warm. She turned her head. There was a fireplace, giving off heat. She was laying on the floor, on a bunch of blankets. She looked around the place she was in. It was a cabin. An empty cabin. It was only one big room and no furniture. She knew she was laying on a bunch of blankets, though. The cabin seemed dirty and abandoned. 

When the door opened, and the one man she had been convinced was a nuisance to the society walked in, she let out a gasp. But every time she moved, it hurt like hell. She saw trees outside. So many trees. He shut the door behind him and locked it. She barely remembered how concerned he was when he found her with the three men. She thought she was in danger at that moment. He walked over to her and kneeled down. She looked up at him with wide eyes. 

"W-What are you-" 

"Don't talk." A deep, distorted, robotic voice said. She was shocked. It obviously wasn't the mans real voice. She swallowed hard, afraid of what was about to happen. She smelt the strong scent of alcohol. She looked down and realized he had opened a bottle of pure alcohol. 

"This is going to hurt." The voice said. Before she could react, he poured the alcohol on her head, and she let out a scream of pain. He grabbed her hand, and she squeezed it. She hadn't even realized she had been holding his gloved hand at first. It had just been her natural reaction to squeeze it, feeling the stinging pain in her head. "I'm sorry." The distorted voice said. 

She realized, after doing her best to look down at herself, that she wasn't wearing any clothes, under the blanket that was covering her. This brought even more panic inside of her. He screwed the cap on the alcohol bottle, and she noticed her clothes on the floor nearby. Her bra and underwear were still on. 

"Why... Why did you take my clothes off?" She said. It took a lot of effort to talk. He looked down at her with those white eyes and grabbed a first aid kit from behind her. 

"Your clothes were wet. You would have gotten sick." The robotic voice said. Betty closed her eyes, feeling exhausted. She gasped when she felt a prick on her head. "Hold still." The voice said. She opened her eyes and realized he was putting stitches in her head. It still hurt, but it was more bearable than alcohol. She kept staring up at him the whole time as if she would eventually see through his mask. 

"Who are you?" She asked, with a raspy voice. He acted as if he hadn't heard her. When he was done, he had put the kit away, and left her. She fell asleep within minutes. 

The next time she woke up, the fire had been out, but she had been bundled in blankets. There was a single window, and she could see it was bright outside. She could move a lot better without feeling as much pain. She took her time, sitting up. Suddenly the door opened and she felt her breathing quicken. She relaxed the slightest bit when she saw it was the same man, in the same spandex suit.

He shut the door behind him. He had a backpack with him. He unzipped it, and took out a bottle of pills, tossing it to her. She caught it and gave him a look before looking at the labels on the bottle. It was painkillers. She looked back up at him with a frown. 

"Where did you get these?" She asked. He stayed silent, tossing his backpack on the ground, and walking over to the window. She let out a sigh, taking a couple out of the small container and swallowing them dry. She watched him, looking out the window. "How long have I been here?" She asked. He looked at her but stayed silent. "You have to talk to me." She demanded. He silently crossed his arms over his chest. 

"Three days." He said. She raised her eyebrows, not only by the information itself but by the voice. It was an actual voice, and not a fake one. It was being forced. Whoever was behind the mask was forcing his voice to be deep, and different than it actually was. She supposed he turned off his voice-changer. 

"Three days?" She asked, panicked. "That's insane!" He dropped his arms and walked over to where her clothes had been. He picked them up, and she realized she was still exposed. She quickly brought the blanket up to her chest. She wondered if he had even been looking at her like that. She couldn't see his actual expressions. She didn't even know how old he was. He tossed her the clothes, and she caught them. He nodded at the clothes, and then left the cabin, shutting the door behind him. 

Betty stood up, letting the blanket drop. She took her time putting her clothes on and looked around the cabin. Her body was still incredibly sore. She hadn't really been punched or kicked anywhere on her body, but she assumed it wasn't good when that man dropped her on the concrete. The pain in her head began to fade, thanks to the pills. There was a soft knock on the door. 

"Come in." Betty said. The masked man opened the door, and then looked at her. He motioned for her to follow him. She hesitated, before following him outside. It looked like they were in the middle of the woods. He walked down the stairs until he got to the ground, and Betty followed him. She looked at him, confused. He held his arm out, and she looked at him confused. 

"What do you want me to..." He gently pulled her close to him, wrapping his arm around her waist. She began to blush lightly, slightly uncomfortable. "Wait, what are you-" But before she could stop him, he shot a web, and suddenly, they were up in the air. She gasped, and held onto him tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck and squeezing her eyes shut.

She felt her stomach dropping and her hair moving with the wind. She could feel the wind against her skin. She heard the hissing sound every time he shot another web. She slowly opened her eyes and looked. It was scary. Very scary. He was shooting his webs at trees. But it was also exhilarating. She even found herself beginning to laugh. She was enjoying it. They eventually reached the town, but he kept going. He kept going until they reached her house.

He helped her through the window into her room and then got in himself. Betty stood up and turned to look at him. She studied him. His suit was skintight. He was a bit shorter than she had expected. She expected Spider-Man to be tall. He was still really muscular. He seemed uncomfortable with her looking at him. She got closer to him and looked up at the white eyes. 

"Who are you?" She whispered. He stayed silent, looking down at her. She slowly reached her hands up, towards where the hem of his mask would be. He grabbed her wrists, gently. She swallowed hard. "You saved my life." She said quietly. "Thank you." 

"You better find her, Charles!" Alice Cooper's voice yelled. Betty turned her head, towards her door, and looked back where the suited man had been. He was gone. She walked to her window and looked out. He was really gone. She then walked over to her mirror and looked at herself. She had a bruise, rimming one of her eyes, and she looked skinny. She lifted up her shirt, and saw a huge bruise on the side she fell on. Suddenly, her door slammed open and she whipped around. 

"Betty?" Charles asked, his eyes wide. "What the hell?" She ran to him and hugged him. He hugged her back. "Where have you been?" He let out a sigh, resting his chin on her head. "You scared the shit out of me." She didn't say anything. She only savored this moment with her brother. She suddenly pulled back, in alarm. 

"Where's Polly?" She asked. Charles frowned. 

"She's in her room, why?" He glanced behind him and then back at Betty. She let out a sigh of relief. FP fixed it.

The reunion with her dad had been the same. Her mom only interrogated her. An hour later, she was sitting in an interrogation room, with a cup of coffee in her hands and Sheriff Keller in front of her. 

"Walk me through it again." He said. Betty let out a sigh of exasperation. 

"I just told you. Want the fast version? Three Serpents tried to rape me and beat me, and Spider-Man came. He brought me to some cabin in the middle of the woods, and I guess I was asleep for three days. On and off. I woke up sometimes. He put these stitches in my head." She explained. Tom had already examined the stitches. He nodded. 

"Well, he's definitely not a doctor." Tom muttered. Betty frowned. 

"Huh?" 

"The stitches. They aren't neat. They're far from perfect, but they got the job done." He shook his head. "Anyway, this is the first sighting of Spider-Man in Riverdale we've seen in a long time." 

"Seriously?" Betty asked. He nodded. 

"How did he know to check that exact spot, at the right time?" Tom asked. Betty frowned. 

"Are you accusing me of something?" She asked. 

"No." He said softly. He then let out a sigh. "I'm not accusing you of anything. Betty, I want to take you to the hospital. Make sure everything's in the right order." Betty nodded, slowly standing up. She suddenly realized how hungry she was. At one point, she thought she remembered Spider-Man giving her some water. Her memory was a little foggy.

"Can I get something to eat?" She asked. Tom nodded. 

"Of course." He said.

Tom got her something to eat, and then took her straight to the hospital. Her parents met her there, but Charles didn't come. The doctor wanted Betty to stay overnight, so they could run some tests. She was fine with it, but she really missed her own bed. Her parents left after a couple of hours, and she had been resting in bed when she got some new visitors. 

She was laying in bed, looking at all her missed messages and calls on her phone, when she looked up to see Veronica, Archie, and Peter walk in. She smiled, putting down her phone as Veronica ran to the bed, and bent down giving Betty a hug. Betty hugged her back, and let out a small whimper. 

"Owe, Veronica." She said, forcing Veronica to pull away. "Sorry, I'm still fragile." Betty said.

"I'm just glad you're okay. After you left the carnival, we looked for you everywhere." She said. Peter had his hands in his pockets, and he was staring at Betty as if she was made of glass. Veronica glared at him. "Take a picture, it will last longer." She snapped. Peter looked at her and then back at Betty. 

"Sorry." He said softly. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking at Betty.

"So, you saw Spider-Man? Like up close?" Archie asked. Everyone looked at him. Peter clenched his jaw shut and looked away from all of them. Betty raised an eyebrow, but decided to ignore it.

"Yeah." She said to Archie. "He, uh... He took me to a cabin." 

"A cabin?" Veronica asked. Betty nodded. 

"News travels fast. Does everyone know?" She asked. 

"Yeah." Archie said honestly. 

"Was he cute?" Veronica asked, earning a glare from Archie. Peter only listened silently. 

"I didn't see his face. He never took his suit off around me." She said. "He used a voice-changer. But... I heard his voice once. His actual voice. He was trying to change it on purpose, though. I don't know why he would do that unless I..." She looked at her friends, unable to finish her sentence. 

"There's no way." Veronica said quickly. "Maybe you've heard his voice on tv like maybe he's someone important. Oh, like Bruce Wayne." 

"Bruce Wayne doesn't exist." Archie said, earning a glare from Veronica. 

"It was just an example..." She said, warning him. She then looked at Betty and smiled. Betty's eyes drifted to Peter. He was looking at the floor, staying silent. 

"Can I talk to Peter? Alone?" She asked, looking between Veronica and Archie. They glanced at each other before looking at her and nodding. 

"Of course." Veronica said, grabbing Archie and dragging him out of the room. Peter didn't move. 

"I'm glad you're okay." He said, looking at her. Betty smiled and patted the bed, right by her leg. Peter sat down carefully. He let out a sigh. "I didn't mean to hurt Jughead." He admitted. 

"I know." She said. "I know you were just protecting me, and yourself. I really appreciate that. I shouldn't have yelled at you." She shrugged. "I was worried about you." 

"I'm not the one who went missing for three days." He said, making her giggle. 

"Is Jughead okay?" She asked. He went quiet for a moment.

"Yeah." He said. She wasn't exactly asking because she cared about Jughead. She was asking because if Jughead hadn't been okay, Peter would have suffered the consequences. She cared about Jughead, and she would always care about him. But she also cared about Peter. Maybe even a little more than Jughead, at that point in time. She didn't want to have these thoughts or think about them, so she quickly pushed them out of her mind. 

"Thank you for coming to see me." She said. He nodded. 

"Of course." He smiled at her. She suddenly felt very tired, and her eyelids felt heavy. She felt the bed shift, as Peter began to get up, and she grabbed his hand. He looked at her, confused. 

"Stay with me for a little." She mumbled, and he sat back down. He held her hand, and she closed her eyes. The reason she wanted him to stay with her, was because every time she closed her eyes, she saw those men, getting ready to kill her. 


	11. Kiss and Tell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope ya'll are ready for some bughead. There's quite a bit of that in this chapter. Enjoy!

Betty had spent the night in the hospital, and the doctor concluded that she didn't have internal bleeding or any damage to her brain. She barely got any real sleep that night. She had nightmares. Nightmares about the men. There was no man in spandex to save her, in her dreams. In the afternoon, it was Peter who drove her home from the hospital. Either of her parents were ready to skip work for her, but she really hated the idea of that. She didn't go to school, but by the time she had gotten discharged, school had been over. 

Betty sat in May Parker's station wagon, her palm on her chin, looking out the window. It had been silent in the car, and Peter was looking at the road. She didn't feel like talking. Not after the night before. 

"Does everything still hurt?" Peter asked, breaking the silence. He glanced at her and then back at the road. She nodded quietly. Peter actually had to help her into the car, to her embarrassment. She had frequent headaches, and her torso still ached. 

"Yeah, unfortunately." She said, in a tired voice. Peter nodded, not looking at her. 

"Sorry." He said. Something in his voice sounded guilty. He sounded remorseful. Betty cocked her head to the side and smiled at him. 

"Don't worry about it." She said, with a small laugh, before looking back out her window. When he pulled up in front of Betty's house, Peter had gotten out of the car, and quickly went around, opening Betty's door for her. She stared at him in disbelief. "Okay, that has to stop." She said. He smiled at her. 

"What?" He asked. 

"Stop opening doors for me and treating me like I'm-" She stood up, and suddenly grabbed her side, feeling her legs go weak. She would have fallen if Peter hadn't been right there. He quickly Grabbed her waist, and Betty put a hand on his shoulder. She had felt a sudden, painful feeling in her side. 

"Are you okay?" Peter asked, still holding her. She nodded, and he slowly took his hands off her. She gained her balance and started to walk again, but the pain persisted, and she let out a small whimper, putting her hand on his shoulder again. 

"Yeah, you seem great." Peter said sarcastically, earning a glare from Betty. He smiled and shut the car door behind her. "Give me your hand." He said. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"No." She said. 

"Betty, give me your hand." He said, again. She let out a sigh and held out her hand. He took it, and wrapped her arm around his neck, before bending down and scooping up her legs, picking her up. She held onto him as he supported her back with his other arm. He carried her up the steps and to her front door. He looked at her when he got there. "Open the door." He said. She took her keys out of her pocket and he kneeled so she could unlock the door and then open it. 

He walked in, closing the door behind him with his foot, and then he walked up the stairs with her. When he walked into her room, he gently put her down on her bed, and she giggled. 

"Thanks, Prince Charming." She said. Peter laughed lightly, and then rubbed the back of his neck, blushing slightly. 

"Do you need anything?" He asked. She shook her head. 

"Nope." 

"Okay, you know you can call me if you do, right? I'll just be next door-" 

"Peter, I'm fine. Go do whatever it is you do." She said, laughing. He nodded, and let out a sigh, staring at her for a moment. He nodded, and then started towards the door. He turned around before leaving. 

"I'll... See you later, Betty." He said softly. Betty furrowed his eyebrows and watched as he left. _That was odd,_ she thought. She closed her eyes and fell asleep in minutes. 

When she slept, there were no dreams and no nightmares. She had been thankful for that. It was probably the meds she had taken, making her sleepy. When she opened her eyes again, it was dark in her room. She stretched out her legs and turned her lamp light on before sitting up in bed. She let out a yawn and rubbed her moist eyes.

Her body ached less than before, but if she moved she could still feel pain. She took out some of the painkillers the hospital gave her and then used a glass of water on her nightstand to take them. She then got up, holding her side as she did, and held onto the walls as she limped over to the door, and made her way down the stairs. Her whole family had been sitting at the dining room table, smiling and laughing. When Charles saw Betty, holding onto the railing at the bottom of the stairs, he quickly got up and walked over to her. 

"All it's about time." He said, putting his hand on her waist. Betty smiled, and wrapped her arm around his neck and let him lead her to the closest chair. 

"How are you feeling, dear? Ready for school tomorrow, I hope." Alice said. 

"Mom, she could barely walk. How do you think she can manage to get to school?" Charles asked. 

"Have Archie drive her, have her friends help her. Education is very important. She missed three days of school while in that... Cabin, and another today." Alice said. 

"Yeah, well, you weren't the one who got beaten by a bunch of gang members, and almost raped, were you?" Polly snapped, surprising everyone. Polly never really defended Betty, but if she had a chance to insult their mother, she would take it. Alice's nostrils flared as she glared at her eldest daughter. 

"You're going to school, Betty." Alice said, still looking at Polly. Betty took a deep breath and looked at Charles, who shook his head. "Go get her some food, Charles," Alice said dismissively. Charles rolled his eyes, before getting up and walking into the kitchen. Betty looked at her father who hadn't said a word the whole time. He smiled at his daughter, and then looked away. 

"Betty, I was going to talk to you about this when you got home from the carnival... But that never happened, so." Alice cleared her throat. "Were you involved in a fight between Peter Parker and Jughead Jones? And... Did you sleep with Reggie Mantle?" Alice's voice shook as she said it. Polly burst into a fit of laughter. 

"Aw, you got guys fighting over you now, princess." Polly said. "Sex with Reggie Mantle, though? I would have never guessed." She said, smirking at her younger sister. Betty's nostrils flared in anger. 

"That is not what happened, you narcissistic-" 

"Betty." Alice said firmly. Betty looked at her mother and let out a sigh. 

"Not that I should ever have to say these words to my parents... But I didn't sleep with Reggie. And, as for the fight... Peter was only trying to protect me." Betty said honestly. 

"Did Jughead attack you?" Alice asked, horrified. 

"No!" Betty said quickly. "No, he didn't. But... It was just a stupid fight, okay?" 

"It's not okay. First Jughead, now Peter. I will not have you associate yourself with violent people. Not again, Elizabeth." 

"Well like it or not, Peter has slowly turned into one of my best friends ever since I broke up with Jughead. And he lives with Archie. My other best friend. So I don't care what you think." She snapped. It sounded a little ridiculous as she said it. It was true, Peter was her friend whether she liked it or not. But it only reminded her of all the times she suspected him of something, or was rude to him, or got mad at him for her own personal reasons. And she didn't doubt it would happen again. But he was still her friend, nonetheless. 

"Betty, that's enough." Hal said quietly. 

"Oh, so now you want to step in?" Alice snapped at him. Betty pushed herself up, wincing slightly, and began to limp away. 

"Where are you going?" Alice snapped. 

"Veronica's." 

"You cannot drive!" Alice said, panicked. 

"I'm taking her." Charles said, stepping out of the kitchen. Alice glared at him but sat down anyway. Charles took Betty's arm, and helped her out the door, grabbing her shoes as they went. He helped her into his car when they got outside. They didn't say anything as he pulled away from the house. 

"Betty, listen." He eventually said, his voice serious. She looked at him, confused. "I don't want you going to the Southside ever again. Not without someone that can protect you." 

"What?"

"There's going to be another murder." 

"How do you know this?" Betty asked, sitting up in her seat. 

"The police station got a warning. I'm not supposed to be telling you this, so do not tell anyone. I mean it. Whoever is doing this, they're from the Southside. We have evidence to back that up. But we are nowhere close to finding out who this asshole is. It could be anyone." Charles said, keeping his eyes on the road. Betty gauged on this information.

"Okay." Betty said softly. "I got it." 

"Just be safe. Alright?" He asked, glancing at her. She nodded slowly. 

"Of course." She said. Her mind had been on other things, the past two days, however. She had been doing a lot of thinking. A lot. 

When she got to Veronica's, she and her parents were very understanding, and she was welcomed to stay. She didn't dare talk to Veronica about any of her thoughts. There was only one person she planned on going to. 

The next day at school, she had already texted the one person she wanted to talk to about her idea. The one person who she believed could help her. She said her goodbyes to Veronica and then went straight to the Blue and Gold room, sitting down and waiting patiently. Two minutes later, Jughead walked in, holding his phone in his hand. He looked at Betty with a confused look on his face, and she nodded towards the door behind him. 

"Shut the door. And lock it." She said. Jughead raised an eyebrow. He was wearing what he usually wore lately. A plain black t-shirt, his leather jacket over it, and black jeans. He hadn't been wearing his beanie lately, so his hair was a mop of jet black hair.

"Okay..." He said, before doing what she said. 

"How's your nose?" She asked. "No brain damage, I hope." She smiled. Jughead glared at her. 

"It's fine, thank you very much. Forever crooked. Keep your dog on a leash next time." He said. Her smile faded. 

"I didn't invite you here to insult Peter." 

"Is he your boyfriend, or something? Seriously, I gotta know." Jughead said, shoving his phone in his pocket. Betty narrowed her eyes at him. 

"No. You don't have to know. But if it is ripping you apart inside, Jughead, he is not my boyfriend. If one more person makes that insinuation, I might scream at the top of my lungs. I didn't invite you here to talk about my relationship status. You are the _last_ person I would ever want to talk about that with." She snapped. Jughead nodded slowly, clenching his jaw shut. 

"Okay. Then what do you want?" He asked. Betty took a deep breath, before nodding to herself. 

"I want to find out who Spider-Man is." She said. Jughead's eyes widened. 

"What? Hell no!" He said quickly. 

"Jughead..." 

"No. I won't help you." 

"You're the best at finding things. Finding _out_ things. You're the best detective in this town, Jughead." She said honestly. 

"Oh god, do you have some weird crush on him or something?" Jughead asked, running his hands through his hair. 

"What? No! For all I know, he's a forty-year-old man." 

"Then what is it? Last month, you were convinced he was a fugitive who should be in prison." 

"That was before he saved my life." She shot back. 

"You know how many people he's saved? A lot. They move on with their lives." 

"You know that's not how I work, Jug." She said. "Please. If you feel bad for any of the things you have done to me at all, then you will help me with this. I just... I need to know." He was silent for a moment, thinking. 

"You're going to get us killed." He said. Betty smiled. 

"I know." She said softly. Jughead had a smile on the corner of his mouth. 

"Fine. Jesus, fine." He let out a sigh and rubbed his hands over his face. "Look, we aren't going to like, expose him, right?" 

"No. Of course not." She said as if that was silly. "Oh, and one more thing. No drinking while I'm working with you. I mean it. You're going to turn into an alcoholic before you reach the age of twenty-one if you keep this up." She said. Jughead nodded, putting his hands up on either side of his head. 

"Got it." He said. Betty nodded. 

"Meet me here after school." She said, before grabbing her backpack and brushing past him, leaving the room. She froze in the hall, when she saw Peter, talking to a smiley Donna. Peter looked extremely uncomfortable. Betty got closer and then got in the doorway of a classroom so they wouldn't see her. 

"Please, Peter. I'm failing Chemistry." She said. Betty looked to see her pulling on his backpack strap. She suddenly felt like vomiting. 

"I uh... I have to do my own homework." He said nervously. 

"I just need you to tutor me again. I'll pay you." 

"Donna..." He said, flushing slightly. "I don't feel comfortable going to your uh, your house anymore." He said quietly. Suddenly she looked offended. 

"What?" She said, her whole tone changing. Peter shut his eyes like he felt guilty for saying that. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"I'm sorry it's just... The last time you... You uh..." 

"Oh, don't act like you didn't enjoy it!" She snapped. 

"Psycho." Betty whispered. 

"I like you as a friend." Peter said softly, glancing around as if looking for an excuse to leave. 

"Are you gay?" She asked. 

"What? No!" He said quickly. "No, I'm not, I-" 

"Then why didn't you kiss me back?" She said, in a condescending tone. Peter clenched his jaw shut, staring at her with wide eyes. Betty shook her head and then walked toward them. Peter looked at her just as she got to them, and grabbed his arm. 

"Hey, Donna!" She said, smiling. "Peter, can you please walk me to class? I'm still really sore." She said. Peter nodded quickly. 

"Yes." He said, a little too quickly. Donna was glaring at Betty. Betty smiled and began to lead Peter away. When they were out of sight, Betty let go of his arm. 

"Jesus, Peter you really know how to reject a girl." Betty said. "That was excruciating to watch." 

"You were watching?" He asked nervously. 

"Sorry." She said, apologetically. "So she kissed you, huh?" 

"I really thought she just needed help in class." He muttered. Betty laughed. 

"God, you're such a boy." She said. Peter nodded, smiling at the ground. Betty thought for a moment and then looked at him. 

"How long were you with Michelle?" Betty asked. Peter stopped walking and stiffened. Betty stopped with him. 

"Uh, well." He said slowly. "We first got together the summer before my Junior year." He said and looked at her. Betty smiled and nodded. 

"Was she your first girlfriend?" Betty asked. Peter thought for a moment. 

"Not exactly." He said. "Kind of." Betty raised an eyebrow but decided not to ask. 

"Did you love her?" She asked. This hit a nerve. Peter put his hands in his pockets and clenched his jaw shut. He looked mad all of a sudden. 

"Why are you asking stupid questions?" He asked. Betty's smile faded. 

"I was just-" 

"Well don't. Please just, stay out of my business. I'd appreciate it." He was about to walk away but he froze. "Hold on." He said, slowly turning to look at her. Betty felt her gut clench and began to get nervous. "How did you know her name was Michelle? I never told you that." He said, staring at her hard. Betty closed her eyes. _Shit,_ she thought. She opened her eyes and looked into his, letting out a sigh. 

"I was looking at your old school's website, and I saw a picture of you two together. I assumed she was your ex and found out her name was Michelle Jones-" 

"You're looking into my past?" Peter asked, sounding offended, and a little betrayed. 

"No!" She said quickly but paused. "Well, yeah... I'm so sorry, Peter I just wanted to-" 

"You wanted to what? Stalk me?" He asked. 

"Just let me talk-" 

"Just stop." He said, laughing coldly. 

"Why are you acting like this?" She asked, incredulously. "This isn't you." 

"Well apparently you don't know me very well, Betty." He said, looking at her. He looked a little hurt, which made Betty feel even worse. "Because you're going to my school's website, and looking up my ex-girlfriend, and my friends." 

"I don't get why it's such a big deal. Maybe I wanted to get to know you more." She said, defensively. 

"It's a big deal when I overhear Archie on the phone with Veronica, talking about how you think I'm hiding something. How apparently, you are acting crazy behind my back, accusing me of stuff." 

"I _never_ accused you of anything." She said, raising her voice. People in the hall began to look at them. 

"I chose to ignore everything I heard. Because I _trust_ you. Actually, not anymore. Maybe you should stop hanging around with me. Because I'm hiding something. Right?" He said, beginning to walk backward. 

"Peter, you're blowing this so out of proportion." Betty said, her voice cracking. 

"Stop digging, Betty." Peter warned. "You won't find anything." He said. Betty frowned. There was a glint in his eyes. Guilt. He looked guilty. He turned around, and walked away, turning a corner. Betty stood there, staring at the place he had just been. She closed her eyes. _Veronica told Archie, and Peter had heard everything._

Betty scoffed and walked to her first period of the day. In Physics, Peter completely ignored her. It really stung, but she was hoping things would go back to normal in a couple of days. After school, she walked to the Blue and Gold room, and sat down, burying her face in her hands. She felt guilty. She had never really seen Peter angry before. She never wanted to see him like that again. He felt betrayed, and it was because of her. 

"Are you okay?" Jughead asked, from the doorway, she looked up, and quickly wiped her eyes, sniffing. 

"Yeah. Yup. I'm fine." She said, standing up.

"Betty, I've known you since we were five. It's going to take a lot more to hide the fact you're upset from me." He said, smiling. Betty shook her head, closing her eyes. 

"I uh, I got into an argument with Peter." She said softly. Jughead nodded. 

"Sorry to hear that." He said, shutting the door behind him. Betty shrugged. 

"You know, we used to get into fights all the time. And it sucked. But... I always knew it was going to be okay. With him, it's different. He's secretive, and he trusted me, and it's like... It's like he only trusts certain people, and now I'm not one of those people." She said. She had forgotten who she was talking about. She looked up, to see Jughead staring at her. 

"Why would he get upset by you digging into his past, unless he has something to hide? Maybe... He's just afraid of you finding it." Jughead said. Betty looked up at him and frowned. "Oh, I know what you did because... I talked to Kevin recently. I just assumed that was why you guys fought." He said. Betty shrugged. 

"I'm just crazy." She said, laughing lightly. 

"I don't think you're crazy." Jughead said softly. Betty's eyes met his, and they looked at each other for a moment. Betty quickly looked away and shook her head. 

"Uh, anyway. I shouldn't be talking about this with you." She said, laughing. 

"I don't mind." Jughead said, and suddenly, he was right there next to her. She looked up at him, watching as his eyes scanned over her. She took a small step away. 

"I think we should start with the cabin." She said. Jughead nodded, in agreement. 

"Yes." He said, pausing for a moment. "What cabin?" He asked. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"The cabin he took me to. Spider-Man." She said as if it was obvious. Jughead nodded. 

"Yes." He said. "I remember. I was, uh, actually doing some research. You said it was in the middle of the woods?" 

"Yeah, but when he started, swinging, or webbing, or whatever it's called, my eyes were closed. For the first part. I didn't see where we came from." She said. 

"You got to be there, swinging in midair, with him?" Jughead asked. Betty stared at him. 

"No, we took the car that he doesn't have." She said sarcastically. 

"I'm sorry, that's just... So cool." Jughead said. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"Stop fanboying." She said. Jughead smiled and nodded. 

"Sorry." He muttered. "Did you see his web-shooters up close?" 

"Jughead." Betty warned. He put his hands up in defense. She shook her head. "Anyway, did you find anything on the cabin?" 

"Well, not on the internet. But, when I was fourteen, and... Homeless." He winced at the word. "I was bouncing from place to place. Before the drive-in, I was living in a cabin. It wasn't much. Just a roof over my head. It was basically a giant square. No furniture, abandoned, just wood walls and a floor." 

"That's it!" Betty said. "Jug, that's the cabin I was in." She said. 

"Are you sure?" 

"How many cabins are there like that in Riverdale?" She asked. Jughead nodded. 

"Fair enough." He said. 

"Do you remember where it is?" 

"Yeah-" 

"Okay, let's go. We're taking my car." She said, grabbing her backpack. Jughead's mouth dropped as he watched her head towards the door. 

"What, now?" He asked. He let out a sigh and followed her. In the car, Jughead bounced his knee up and down nervously. 

"Would you calm down?" Betty asked as she pulled out of the parking lot. "That's going to drive me crazy." She said, glancing at him and then back at the road. He stopped bouncing his knee. 

"Sorry." He muttered. "I just... I don't want you to get yourself killed, Betty." He said, sounding frustrated. "You've always done this. For years. The only difference is you're only letting me into your life because you need my help. I'm not your boyfriend anymore. I wasn't with you when you got attacked by those Serpents." 

"Who's fault is that?" Betty snapped. "Yours. Because I wasn't around for you to get your dick wet." 

"I'm not having this argument with you again." Jughead said. 

"Then shut up." She said coldly. Jughead let out a sigh. 

"You want to know why I did it?" He asked. 

"I don't care. You did it nonetheless." Betty said. Silence filled the car for a moment. Jughead broke it. 

"Nothing can justify it. I know that. But... The past few weeks before we broke up, I've had to do things I never want to do ever again. Scary things. I didn't want to tell you, because I thought you would be afraid of me. I don't want you to be afraid of me, Betty." Jughead said softly. Betty glanced at him, and then back at the road. "So one night, I just wanted one night to stop thinking about it all. My dad, the gang, I just wanted one night. And Peaches understood. She knew. You didn't. She was there." Betty nodded slowly. 

"Jug." She said quietly. "There's nothing in the world that could've made me afraid of you. You should have told me. And now? I am scared of you. But not because of the things you've done for your gang. I'm afraid of you because you broke my heart. And I don't want you to do it again." Betty said, without looking at him. Neither of them talked after that. 

"Right here." Jughead said after they had been driving for a while. Betty pulled the car over, on the side of the road, and they both got out. 

"It's in there?" She asked. Jughead nodded. 

"Yeah, shouldn't be too far." He said. "Betty wait, I think we should come up with a plan." Betty furrowed her eyebrows. 

"A plan?" 

"Yeah, what if we walk in there, and he's like standing right there? Do we run or..." 

"Are you afraid of Spider-Man?" Betty asked with raised eyebrows. 

"Am I afraid of the guy who shoots webs out of his wrist, and has the strength to crush my skull? Nope. Not at all." He said. Betty laughed and rolled her eyes. 

"Jug, he doesn't hurt innocent people. Are you an innocent person?" 

"Well-" 

"Don't answer that." She said, cutting him off. "We'll be fine. Let's just go. I have you here to protect me, right?" She asked, before turning around and walking into the woods. Jughead let out a sigh and glanced back at the car. 

"Damn it." He whispered, before following her. They walked for five minutes, before Betty saw the wooden framing in the distance, and saw the cabin. 

"There it is." She said, walking faster towards it. 

"Betty." Jughead said, trying to keep up with her. She went up the steps, hearing Jughead right behind her. "Betty, hold on." He said, but she ignored him. She opened the door, hearing a loud creaking sound as she did. Both the teenagers froze and peeked inside. It was empty. There was nobody inside. Jughead followed Betty inside. 

"Wow, it's really nice. I wonder if it's on the market." Jughead said sarcastically. Betty ignored him and began to look around. She went to the corner, where there were a chair and a backpack on top. She frowned, and knelt down, opening the backpack. There were pens and textbooks inside. 

"Oh my god." She breathed. "Jughead... He's a student." She said. Jughead walked over and picked up a textbook. 

"This is from Riverdale High." He said, looking at the cover. "Holy shit. We go to school with this guy?" 

"There's no way." Betty said. 

"You recognize the backpack?" Jughead asked. Betty shook her head. Nobody she knew had that backpack. Or at least, she thought so. 

"Do you think either of us are friends with him?" Jughead asked, putting the textbook back in the backpack. Betty let out a sigh. 

"I'm not sure. It's possible." She said, looking up at Jughead. He held out his hand, and she took it, standing up. She walked past him and continued to examine the area. 

"This is just like old times." Jughead said. Betty walked over to one wall and nodded. 

"Yeah." She said softly. "It is." When she turned around, Jughead was right there, inches away from her. She looked up, into his eyes. She watched him swallow, and then move a piece of hair off her face, touching her cheek with his palm. "Jug." She whispered. "I can't." 

"I know." He said, not backing away or removing his hand. "I just miss you so much." He put his thumb on her lip, and she looked into his green eyes. Suddenly, he leaned in and kissed her. She kissed him back, and then put her hand on the back of his neck. A voice in her head kept telling her to stop. She felt guilty, although she had no idea why. It felt so wrong. She felt his tongue press against hers as they kissed, and she pulled away. 

"Stop." She breathed. "I can't." 

"Betts-" 

"I don't feel anything, Jug." She said, looking up at him. His hand was still cradling her cheek. He furrowed his eyebrows. 

"What?" 

"When I kiss you, I feel nothing." She said. "It's not the same." Jughead took a step back from her, dropping his hand. Betty closed her eyes, feeling disappointed. He laughed coldly. "I'm so sorry." She whispered. 

"Nope. It's not your fault." He said, dragging his hands through his hair. Betty opened her eyes and looked at him. 

"Maybe we shouldn't... Hang out. You've already done so much for me. Thank you." She said softly. Jughead shook his head as if he was thinking about something. 

"It's Peter, isn't it?" He asked. Betty let out a sigh. 

"Jughead-" 

"No, I just want to know what it is." He said. "You said you don't feel anything." 

"This has nothing to do with Peter. I can forgive you, okay? I'm over it, I forgive you. But we can never be together again. You know exactly what it is." She said. Jughead nodded slowly. 

"Yeah. I do." He scoffed. "I'm sorry." He said, before turning around and leaving the cabin. Betty let out a shaky sigh, and curled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms. It had been so long since she had done it, but she couldn't resist anymore. When she walked outside, the sun was getting ready to set, and Jughead was smoking a cigarette. "I'll meet you in the car in a couple of minutes." He said, without looking at her. She nodded, walking past him and to the road, where the car was. 

She stayed outside the car, taking a deep breath. She had kissed him back. And she didn't feel anything. Not like she used to. She heard a twig snap, and whipped around, backing up until she hit her car. Jughead was nowhere to be seen, but she saw a flash of bright red, for a second. It was gone now. She looked around, wondering if she was being watched. 

"Ready to go?" Jughead asked, coming out of the woods. Betty was still looking into the trees. "Betts?" She looked at Jughead and nodded. 

"Yeah." She said, going around to her side and getting in the car.

After driving to Jughead's trailer and dropping him off, she drove straight home. Her heart began to beat faster when she saw two cop cars outside her house. She pulled over, and got out of her car, running up the steps and to the front door. After getting into the house, she followed the voices to the kitchen. Charles and Tom Keller were there. Tom looked different. He looked exhausted, and his eyes were red and hollow. He looked ten years older. 

"What's going on?" Betty asked. Her mom had been crying. Charles looked guilty. Everyone looked at her. Polly looked unamused. 

"Betty..." Charles began. "Sit down." 

"What happened?" She asked again, louder. "I have a right to know, somebody tell me." She demanded. 

"Kevin..." Tom choked out. Betty suddenly felt like she had just been stabbed in the back. Her side hurt, and her head began to ache. 

"What about Kevin?" Betty asked. 

"We found his body, by Sweetwater River." Charles explained. Betty covered her mouth with her hand, and suddenly the tears began flowing. Everything began to fade into the background. 

"No." She mumbled. "Is-Is he okay?" She asked. Charles looked at Alice, and then back at Betty. 

"Betty..." He began. Betty shook her head. She wouldn't believe it until she heard the words. "He's dead," Charles said. She took a step away from all of them. "Betty, wait." 

"Leave me alone." She spat, before turning around and running out the front door. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Even if she gasped for air, the oxygen didn't reach her lungs. She felt like the world had stopped spinning on its axis. She felt like she was _dying_.

She ran straight to Archie's house. When she got there, she pounded on the door. When there was no answer, she pounded again. Suddenly, the door opened and Peter was there. When he saw it was Betty, he let out a sigh and looked away. It took him a minute to register the broken expression she had. 

"Wh-Where's Archie?" She asked. Her voice quivered. Peter's face softened, and he looked worried. "Where I-Is he?" She asked, starting to full-on sob. 

"He's out, with May, and Fred. Betty, what's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?" He asked, looking her up and down as if he expected to find a stab wound. Betty shook her head, covering her face with her hands. Peter's eyes widened in alarm. 

"No. He's dead. He's dead. He can't be dead." She continued to cry. Peter grabbed her, and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. She buried her face into his neck and continued to sob. 

"Okay. Okay." He said quietly. 

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She began to repeat the two words over and over again. 

"It's okay. Betty, it's okay." He said, starting to stroke her hair softly. He moved her, so she was inside the house, and shut the door behind them. "Come on, Betty." He said softly, leading her to the living room. He guided her to the couch, and they both sat down. He let her lay her head on his shoulder, and continue to cry, with his arm around her. It was like that for half an hour. 

Betty began to slowly calm down. Her choking sobs turned into crying, and her crying turned into sniffling. And eventually, she just went dead silent. Peter stayed with her the whole time, rubbing her back. 

"Who's dead?" He whispered. Betty didn't respond at first, and he thought she might have fallen asleep. 

"Kevin." She said, her voice cracking. "He was my best friend. I don't... I don't know what I'm going to do without him. He was just a kid." She was starting to cry again. Peter rested his cheek on her head. "Please don't be mad at me." She said quietly. The way she said it, made Peter feel sick all of a sudden. 

"I'm not mad at you." He said softly. She closed her eyes, and the exhaustion hit her. She was asleep within minutes. Peter didn't dare move. Ten minutes later, the door opened, and the three other people Peter lived with, walked in. He turned his head slightly, trying not to wake Betty. Fred and Archie both looked upset, and out of it. They must have heard the news. May, Archie, and Fred looked at Peter and Betty on the couch. Archie looked like he was about to cry at any minute. May let out a sigh. 

"Take her upstairs, Peter. Let her rest." May whispered. She placed a hand on Fred's back, and lead him to the kitchen. Archie put his hands in his pockets, swallowing hard. Peter gently, grabbed Betty's legs and picked her up. 

"You got her?" Archie asked quietly. Peter nodded, walking past him, and up the stairs with Betty. Betty's head lolled on his shoulder, and she made a small noise. Peter laid her on his bed, and covered her with the covers, tucking her in. The sun had gone down by then. Archie walked into the room behind Peter. 

Archie took one pillow from his bed and threw it at Peter. Peter caught it and glared at him. He dropped the pillow on the floor, and grabbed a blanket from the closet, putting it on the floor with the pillow. 

"I'm sorry. For your loss." Peter said quietly, looking at Archie. "I wish I knew him better." Archie looked at Peter and nodded. 

"Thank you." He said. His voice sounded gruff. Archie looked at Betty on Peter's bed. 

"I'm more worried about her and Veronica." He said. "I called her, I was about to go see her. She didn't want to see me." 

"I'm sorry." Peter said. "She'll come around." Archie nodded. 

"I hope so." He said. 

Peter ended up sleeping on the floor, between the beds, which he was perfectly fine with. In the morning, Betty slowly woke up to the sunlight shining in her face from outside. She didn't realize where she was at first. She stretched her arms, and sat up, hearing water running. She was the only one in the room. Suddenly, Archie's bathroom door opened, and Peter came out, his hair wet, and fully dressed in his jeans and a t-shirt. He looked at Betty and smiled. 

"Hey." He said. Betty nodded, remembering the events of the day before. It wasn't a dream. She suddenly felt like screaming. But she didn't. 

"Are you going to school?" She asked. 

"Yeah. You don't have to. You can go home... Or stay." 

"I don't want to go home." She said, a little too quickly. Peter nodded. 

"Then you can stay here. May and Fred are okay with it. Just call your mom, okay?" He asked. Betty nodded her agreement. Peter grabbed his backpack and looked at her. "Archie and I will be back later, okay?" Betty nodded, and he left. He left her with a million thoughts in her head. 


	12. Murder Number Two

After Peter and Archie had left for school, Betty fell asleep again. She slept for a couple of hours before waking up. When she woke up, she got that feeling of now knowing where she was again. She stretched her limbs and then got out of the bed. She had been in Archie's room so many times throughout her life, but it wasn't just Archie's room anymore. She never really got to have a good look at the changes. It was like a dorm room. One side for Peter and the other for Archie. 

Just by looking at the room, you could tell two completely different boys lived in it. Archie had his guitar, and football gear, with posters of bands and such. Peter had a bunch of school textbooks messily piled on top of each other on his desk, and video games. Betty even noticed he had legos, which, made her laugh the slightest bit. 

She looked at Peter's nightstand and picked up a framed photo. It was Peter, between two other guys. One was a short Filipino boy, and the other was a tall, handsome skinny boy, with messy, curly brown hair. He looked so familiar to Betty, and she was shocked at the realization. It was Harry Osborn. She had seen him on tv before. It surprised her that Peter was friends with Norman Osborn's son. Peter looked so happy, smiling widely between the two boys. It looked like it couldn't have been taken more than a year before.

"That's Harry and Ned." A soft voice said from the doorway. Betty looked up to see May, leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed over her stomach. Betty glanced at the picture before putting it back down. 

"Yeah, I know who Harry Osborn is. I'm a little... Surprised." She said honestly. May rolled her eyes. 

"That boy." She said, clicking her tongue. Betty laughed. 

"What's wrong with him?" 

"He's half my age and every time I see him, he flirts with me." May said, making Betty laugh harder. 

"Listen, um... I'm sorry. For being here. I would go home, but I know that if I go home, my parents and my siblings are just going to ask me to talk about... It. And I can't talk about it. Not yet. Because if I start talking about it, I'm going to cry, and I don't know if I'll be able to stop." She said, her voice shaky. May nodded. 

"I understand." She said softly. "Why don't we get you changed? I'm not sure if my clothes will fit you, but we can work something out." She said, smiling at the young girl. Betty nodded, and stood up, following May. 

After she got into some fresh clothes, and May put her old ones in the washer, they had watched a movie together. It was a little later when Veronica came over. It turned out, that she didn't go to school either. As soon as they saw each other, they hugged. May left them in the living room to talk. Veronica's eyes had been red and puffy, and it looked like she barely got any sleep. 

"I... I was at home when Archie called me and-" Veronica was beginning to cry. "Betty, he's gone." She said, her voice cracking. Betty hugged her friend, closing her eyes as she did. 

"I know." She whispered. 

"It's not fair. It's not fair." Veronica said, choking on her words. 

"I know, V." Betty said softly. Suddenly, the door opened and suddenly they heard a bunch of talking. 

"You're kidding, right?" Archie said. 

"No, I'm not kidding." Peter said softly. 

"How does that even work, it doesn't make sense-" Both the boys paused when they saw Veronica and Betty on the couch. Betty looked between Veronica and Archie and looked at the time on her phone. 

"You guys are two hours early." She said. Peter looked at Archie, and back at the two girls. 

"Uh, the principal let us out early because... Of the circumstances." He said, clearing his throat. 

"I was just leaving." Veronica said, walking past Archie. He put his hands up, in defeat. 

"Veronica." He said, sternly. He followed her out the door, slamming it behind him. Peter looked at the door and then shook his head. 

"I should leave too." Betty said, standing up. 

"You don't have to." Peter said quickly, and then he recoiled for a moment. He slowly walked over to her and stopped when he was standing inches away from her. He looked at her, studying her. "You don't have to leave." He said quietly. She looked at him, and her green eyes met his brown eyes. She smiled and shook her head. 

"I have to go, Peter. Thank you, for just being there for me." She said. She kissed his cheek, and then looked at him again. He was giving her a look that she couldn't decipher, or read. She then brushed past him and left the house. As soon as she walked into her house, she was ambushed. 

"Betty? Is that you?" Alice called, running to the front door. "Where the hell have you been?" 

"I needed a minute." Betty said. 

"A minute? A minute?" Alice yelled. "There is a murderer on the loose. You don't get to disappear like that." 

"There's always a murderer on the loose!" Betty snapped. Alice let out a sigh. 

"You are grounded until someone is put into custody for these murders." She said, her voice full of anger. Betty frowned. 

"What? You can't do that!" 

"Oh, yes I can!" Alice yelled. "That means no parties, no sleepovers, none of it! You go to school, and then you come back home." 

"Fine. I don't even care anymore." Betty spat, before going upstairs to her room, slamming the door behind her. 

It felt good to take a hot shower, and then change into her own clothes, before laying in her own bed. Of course, she would be going back to school the next day. She needed normal. She needed to go a week without thinking about Spider-Man, Jughead, or Kevin. It was exhausting. And she just wanted to fill the black, empty hole she felt inside of her. 

"You're grounded?" Archie asked in surprise, the next day at lunch. That morning, Betty hadn't felt the energy to do her makeup or even try. She went to school in the biggest sweatshirt she could find, plain blue jeans, and she left her hair down. Now she sat at the lunch table, her hand in her hair, with her elbow on the table. 

"Yup. For no reason." She mumbled. 

"Just tell your dad. She can't ground you, you didn't do anything wrong. Well, except for running away for a day, but that was expected." Veronica said. Betty shrugged. 

"He won't do anything. He listens to my mom." She said. She looked at Peter, who had a screwdriver, and was concentrated on taking a screw out of a thing that seemed to be made of metal, and many electrical wires. 

"What the hell is that?" Betty asked. Peter looked at her, and then looked at Archie and Veronica, who were both looking at him like he was crazy. 

"It's uh, its a part that goes inside a Power Circuit." He said, going back to his work.

"A Power Circuit?" Veronica asked. 

"It's like a breaker. Like in your house." He mumbled, tossing the screw to the side when it was out. 

"What are you doing with it?" Veronica asked. "Actually, never mind. I'm sure whatever you say, none of us will understand." She said. Peter grinned and kept screwing out little screws. Suddenly, Jughead sat down beside Betty, and everyone looked at him. 

"Hey, Betty. Can I talk to you?" He whispered. Peter looked up from what he was doing, and when he saw Jughead, his expression turned into a deadly glare. 

"You can talk to me instead." Archie said, to his once best friend. Jughead looked at him and furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Archie, it's fine." Betty said. "Yeah, let's go." She said to Jughead. 

"No." Veronica said. "Oh, hell no." She stood up. "Jughead Jones, I will not let you take advantage of her while she is in a fragile state!" She yelled. The whole cafeteria looked at their table, and Betty closed her eyes. 

"Take advantage of her?" Jughead asked, and then laughed lightly. "Yeah, sorry. I already tried that." 

"What?" Archie said, suddenly, looking at Jughead incredulously. 

"Jughead, what the hell?" Betty snapped. 

"I don't want to talk about the kiss, okay, I just want to talk about-" 

"Wait, wait." Veronica said. "You guys _kissed_?" Betty glared at Jughead. 

"I'm going to kill you." She said. 

"Well, well, well." A sweet voice said. Everybody looked to see Cheryl standing there. "Hobo and Bride of Hobo are back at it. Typical. You know what they say. Once a cheater, always a cheater. Careful, Betty. He's also a Serpent." Suddenly, Betty had enough. She stood up, scraping her chair back. 

"Fuck all of you." She spat, before turning, and walking out of the cafeteria. In Physics, Peter sat next to Betty. She had her hood up, and had her eyes closed, burying her face in her arms on her desk. She looked up at him when she heard him sit down. 

"Hey." He said. 

"Please just... Don't ask about Jughead. Ask me in ten years." She said. Peter smiled. 

"I was actually going to ask you if you need the answers to the assignment since you seem intent on sleeping all period." He said. Betty smiled. 

"Thank you." She said. She began to do the assignment, and then looked at him. "Uh, can you drive me home today after school? Like, drive my car?" She asked. Peter let out a sigh. "I know, you've done, like a lot for me lately. I'm sorry, you don't have to. I just don't feel like driving." 

"Of course I'll drive you home, Betty." He said. She smiled her thanks at him. He did end up driving her home, and they said their goodbyes. Betty didn't feel like doing anything else. Not even her homework. She had a strong urge to crawl into her bed and fall asleep forever. It sounded morbid, the more she thought about it. 

But by the time she got in her house and set her backpack on a chair, she saw Polly. Polly was looking in a mirror in the hallway, putting on a dark tube of red lipstick. She looked at Betty as she came in, and looked back in the mirror. 

"Where are you going?" Betty asked. Polly looked at her. 

"The Whyte Wyrm." She said. 

"Can I go with you?" Betty asked hurriedly. Polly looked at her sister incredulously. 

"Hell no. Charles would kill me. So would mom and dad, but they're irrelevant anyway." 

"Polly, please. Jughead might be there and I have to talk to him." 

"And if you almost get raped again?" 

"Fuck you." Betty snapped. Polly let out a sigh. 

"Look, you're always walking up in there like you own the place, and you're the shit. You want to go into a bar full of gang members, and act like you're immortal? You can't wear your pastel colors." Polly said. Betty looked down at herself, and then up at Polly. "You still got your Serpent jacket?" 

"Always." 

"I'll get you a proper outfit, and you go get the jacket. Got it?" Polly commanded. Betty nodded, and then went upstairs. When she came back down, she changed into the clothes Polly had given her. It ended up being a lacy black top, that stopped above her belly-button and ripped black jeans. She even let Betty borrow a pair of her combat boots. 

"I don't feel comfortable." Betty said honestly, looking in a mirror. 

"You aren't supposed to. Put the jacket on." She said. Betty let out a sigh, and put the jacket on, moving her hair so it was outside the jacket. Polly smiled. "You look good. Makeup?" 

"I told you I needed to see Jughead, I'm not a project for you to work on." Betty snapped. 

"If you look like a Serpent, nobody will try to attack you. They don't hurt their own. Let me make sure you don't get killed." Polly said sternly. Then she smiled. "How often do I get to dress you up?" 

"Sisters help their sisters shop for prom dresses, not prepare them for bars." Betty said. Polly shrugged. 

"We'll get there." She said. The mention of prom made Betty sick. She hadn't even been thinking of it. "So, you have a date yet? I know it's a few months away, but-" 

"We're doing this now?" Betty asked. Polly let out a sigh. 

"Come on, Betty. We have all the time in the world. Look, mom and dad may hate me because of my decisions, and maybe I do make bad decisions. But I'm not a bad person. I care about you. Is it so wrong to try and be normal with you?" She asked. Betty looked away, thinking about this. 

"No. I don't have a date, yet. I haven't even thought about prom." Betty admitted. Polly nodded. 

"You don't need a date." She said. "Boys are stupid. We thrive without them." Betty looked at her, and Polly winked. "Let me do your makeup." Betty laughed and nodded. 

"Alright." She said, sitting down on the couch. Polly knelt in front of her. When they were done, they got in Polly's car, and they left. 

The bar was just as Betty remembered. Filled with smoke, and loud music, and middle-aged men. The only difference was the hungry stares she was getting from the men. Betty stayed close to Polly, as if she were her mom, in a crowd at the mall. 

"Malachi!" Polly exclaimed. Betty watched as Polly wrapped her arms around Malachi, and kissed him. He kissed her back, and Betty made a face of disgust. It was a sloppy kiss. 

"Hey big Coop." He said when they pulled away. 

"I heard you bullied my little sister the last time she was here." Polly said, smiling sweetly at him. 

"Little Cooper? I have no idea what you're talking about." He said. Polly laughed lightly and traced his jaw with her finger. 

"Aw, really?" She shrugged. "Okay." She suddenly grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head down on the nearest table. Betty let out a gasp. "Apologize to her right now." Polly snapped. 

"Holy shit, Pol." Betty said, in shock. A few people looked at them, but it looked like something the whole bar was used to. 

"You know I love it when you pull my hair." Malachi said, grinning up at Polly. She scoffed and rolled her eyes before slamming him again. Betty jumped as she did. "Fine!" He yelled, in anger. "I'm sorry, Betty." He said, glaring up at Polly. She smiled and let go of his hair. 

"Thanks, baby." She said. She then looked at Betty. "Malachi will make sure you're safe. Just give me a call if you need anything." She then left, going to a back room. Malachi was rubbing his head. He turned to one of his friends. 

"She's a crazy bitch." He said. His friend laughed at that. It was strange, to Betty. She had never been in this part of Polly's life. 

"Where's Jughead?" Betty asked, looking at Malachi. Malachi looked at her and nodded towards the bar. Betty turned and saw Jughead bartending. It was weird because he was seventeen, but then she remembered that Toni was a bartender as well. She walked over and sat down. When Jughead saw her, he hurried over. 

"Hey, what are you-" He froze, and looked her over. "What are you doing here?" 

"You said you needed to talk. Talk." She said. He hesitated. 

"Look, Betts-" 

"Jughead, just get it out." She snapped. He let out a sigh and took the towel he had on his shoulder, putting it on the bar. 

"The past two nights, Spider-Man has been here. Not in this bar specifically, but the Southside. He's trying to get information." He said. Betty frowned. 

"What?" 

"He's asking questions. To do with the murderers. You have no idea how many Serpents and Ghoulies have tried to kill him." Jughead glanced around the room and began to wipe down the bar. 

"What kind of questions?" Betty asked.

"Look, that's all I know." He said. Betty opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly they heard a bunch of gunshots from outside. Jughead turned his head, and let out a sigh. "Shit." He muttered. 

"What the hell was that?" Betty asked. 

"Get out of here, Betty. I mean it." He said, before throwing the towel down, and disappearing. Suddenly, everyone was leaving the bar. Betty looked around for Polly and turned to see she was right there. 

"Here." She said loudly, so Betty would hear her. She handed Betty her keys. "Go home." Betty's eyes widened in panic. 

"What about you?" 

"I'll be fine. Go!" Polly said, before disappearing, just like Jughead. Betty let out a sigh, and then left, getting in Polly's car and driving away.

By the time she got home, she had called Polly three times. She put her purse down, on one of the chairs in her living room, and crashed down on the couch. She looked at the dark room and decided to use the fireplace. It was silent in the house, and she was the only one home. She wasn't sure where everyone else was, but she felt eerily calm, despite the events of the night.

She was just finishing up with the fire, putting the last log in, when she heard a knock at the door. She let out a sigh, and stood up, checking the time on her phone. It was almost seven. She took her time walking to the door, and there was a bang on the door. Betty frowned, opening the door. She smiled when she saw it was Peter, but her smile was gone almost as soon as it came. 

"Peter, what are you-" She noticed how pale he was. He was sweating so much. His hair seemed damp. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans. Her eyes drifted down to where his hand was. She felt her breath catch in her throat. One part of the white shirt had turned red. He was holding the bleeding wound with his hand. "Peter?" 

"Betty. I-" He stopped when he saw her. He frowned, his eyes scanning her. She suddenly felt exposed in her outfit. "Wow." He muttered, and then it was as if he remembered he was bleeding badly. "I, uh, I need your help." 

"What the hell?" She said, staring at his side with wide eyes. "You need a hospital. I'm calling 911." She said. 

"No!" He said quickly and shook his head. "No. No hospitals." 

"What is with you and hospitals?" 

"Betty I need you to help me. You. Nobody else. Please, I..." He struggled to keep his eyes open and stumbled a bit. Betty quickly helped him keep his balance. "I..." 

"Peter?" She put her hands on his face, looking at him. He was struggling to keep his eyes open. "No. No, no, no. Stay awake. Don't you dare go unconscious. I'll help you. Okay? Let me help you." He let out a groan, wincing from the pain. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she helped him in, shutting and locking the door behind him. She helped him to the living room and laid him down in front of the fire. "What do I do? What do you want me to do?" She asked, panicking. 

"Alcohol. Go get alcohol. And a medkit." He said. He held his side and squeezed his eyes shut in pain. 

"If you die, I'm going to be really pissed." She said, before going into her bathroom and getting alcohol along with the only med kit they had. She quickly ran back to him. "What the hell happened to you, Peter?" She asked. 

"I was in the Southside, and I got stabbed. It didn't... Hit any internal organs. But, it hurts so bad." He clenched his jaw shut. He sat up and took his shirt off. Betty pressed her lips together and looked away. "Okay." He breathed, more to himself than to her. He nodded. "Okay, I'm okay. Where's the alcohol?" She handed him the bottle of alcohol, and he stared at it. "You have to do it." She frowned. 

"What? Pour it on the wound? Why can't you do it?"

"Because, I just need you to do it, Betty." He said, sounding frustrated. Betty took a deep breath and nodded. 

"Fine." She said, taking it from him. He nodded, and leaned back, putting his hand on the floor behind him. She looked at him, feeling guilt as she unscrewed the cap. "Okay... Three, two." She just poured it on where the stab wound is, as Peter let out a groan, grabbing her free hand. She began to feel pain in her hand, as he began to squeeze harder and harder. She let out a small gasp. She was sure he was going to break her hand. "Peter!" She yelled. 

"Sorry." He said, quickly letting go. "Sorry." He began to breathe slowly, closing his eyes. "Can you... Stitch it closed." He said, looking at her weakly. Betty nodded slowly, before opening the medkit, and taking out the stitches. 

The whole time she was stitching up the wound, she had to stop and look away, for fear she might throw up. It was all the blood, mixed with the pain-filled sounds Peter had been making. She felt sick the whole time. She felt better by the time it was over, and she was putting a bandage over it. She wiped her forehead with the back of her arm, and let out a sigh. Peter winced, as he sat up. 

"Please let me call a hospital." Betty said. Peter shook his head. 

"I'm fine." He said. 

"What if it gets infected?" 

"It won't." He said, looking her in the eyes. "I promise." She shook her head. 

"Peter, you scared the hell out of me." She said, and then she shoved him. "You think it's okay? Going to the Southside right now? Your blood is all over my carpet! My best friend just died. Are you going to die too?" She yelled. Peter looked guilty, looking away from her. 

"I'm sorry." He said softly. 

"Why did you come to me anyway?" She asked. He was silent for a moment. He then looked her in the eyes. 

"Because you're the person I trust most in my life right now." He said. Betty frowned. 

"What?" 

"Damn it, Betty." Peter said, rubbing his face with his hands. "You are a mess. You're paranoid all the time, you stick your nose in other people's businesses, and when you think there's something wrong, you will not stop until you find out what that is. And that really pisses me off." He said, looking at her. She looked hurt. She looked at the floor. "But that's okay. Because despite all that, I still came to _you_ when I was bleeding buckets." He put his palm on her cheek and made her look at him. "I don't know why. I like all the things that are wrong with you. All those things I just listed? They're what make you so _incredible_." He stroked her cheek with his thumb. 

"Peter..." She began, but she didn't know what he was going to say. 

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, ever since the first day I met you. You're so different." He whispered. She watched as his eyes slowly drifted down, to her lips. Suddenly, he pulled her close and kissed her. She kissed him back, putting her hand on the back of his neck. They kissed each other hungrily, and passionately. Like it was long overdue. She touched his chest, feeling his skin. His warm, skin. She felt butterflies in her stomach, and the hair on her arms standing up. 

He grabbed her waist and pulled her onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to kiss him. Her knee eventually touched his bandaged wound, and he pulled away from her, letting out a groan. 

"I'm sorry." She breathed. "I'm sorry." She said as she began to kiss his cheek, and then his neck. He picked her up, and laid her down on the floor, settling between her legs. It was dark in the room, besides the fire right next to them, giving the dark room a yellow glow. He leaned down and continued to kiss her mouth. She let her fingers drag through his hair as she kissed him back, feeling his tongue slide against hers. 

One of his hands grabbed onto her thigh, and the other was on the ground next to her head. He pulled away from her mouth and began to kiss her neck. Betty closed her eyes, and let out a soft moan, feeling his mouth on her neck. 

"Oh, Peter. Peter." She breathed out. He looked at her, and she pulled him down, kissing his mouth, and feeling warmth pool between her legs. 

"Betty?" A voice said, from next to them. Betty frowned and turned her head. Charles was there, with wide eyes. Betty quickly pushed Peter off of her, and sat up, covering her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut, and covered her face with her hands. 

"Oh my god." She muttered. She then looked at Peter, looking at Charles with a bewildered look on his face. "You should go. Please go." She said. He nodded, with his mouth closed. 

"Yeah, okay." He said nervously. He quickly put his shirt on and walked past Charles. He opened the door, and then looked at Betty, before leaving and shutting the door behind him. Charles was glaring at Betty. 

"What the hell?" He asked. 

"I don't want to talk about it." She said, standing up. She realized how hard she had been breathing, and calmed herself down. She knew she was still flushed, from the position she had just been in, a minute earlier. 

"You're screwing Peter Parker in our living room, now? You got the fire going and everything." Charles said. This set Betty off. 

"You don't live here!" She yelled. "You are always here, and I don't get it. You are a grown man. Stop coming here every single day. You know I actually like him, and you just walked in here and ruined everything!" 

"You actually like him?" Charles asked. 

"Yes." She said, and then paused. "Maybe. I don't know. It's none of your business." She was getting frustrated. 

"Aw, I'm sorry I walked in before you guys got your pants off." He said sarcastically. Betty grabbed a pillow and threw it at him as hard as she could. 

"I hate you!" She yelled. 

"Get over yourself, Betty. Everybody knows you're just going to go running back to Jughead all over again." Charles said. Betty stared at him, feeling tears prick her eyes. Charles let out a sigh. 

"Betty..." 

"Don't ever talk to me that way, ever again." She said, her voice shaky. She then walked past him, and ran up to her room, slamming the door behind her. She paced around her room, running her nails through her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling so much anger. Anger towards everything. Kevin dying, even Fangs dying, kissing Peter. She realized that she had created yet another complicated situation that she would have to deal with later on.

She felt like screaming at the top of her lungs. She continued to walk in circles around her room. She was angry at Jughead. Angry that he kissed her. And Charles. She couldn't help but feel so much anger towards Charles. He had been the closest person to her at that moment, and she would soon regret it, but she was going to take all her anger out on him. She opened her door and stormed downstairs. Charles was still there, leaning against the kitchen counter. He looked at her when he heard her coming. 

"It's your fault." She said. 

"What are you talking about?" Charles asked. 

"You are a police officer. You are supposed to protect the people of this town. Well, guess what. You failed!" She yelled. Charles let out a sigh. 

"Betty, you're having a breakdown." He said. 

"Don't tell me I'm having a breakdown!" She yelled, even louder. 

"You're overwhelmed. Just calm down." 

"Kevin is dead because of you. Fangs is dead because of you. Two teenage boys, are dead, because of you! It's all your fault." She said coldly. "Polly is all fucked up in the head, because of you. Where were you when her boyfriend was getting murdered and dumped into a river? She's traumatized!" Charles stared at her, looking completely broken. "Hey, maybe Jughead's next. You know what they say. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Maybe I'll turn out just like Polly." 

"Betty." Charles said, watching as she started back up the stairs. "Betty, come back here!" 

"Go home, asshole!" She yelled, going into her room and slamming her door closed. The whole night, she tried to sleep. But she only ended up scrolling through her camera roll, looking at all the pictures she had with Kevin. She eventually cried herself to sleep. 


	13. Numb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to put a trigger warning for this chapter. There is going to be drug use, talk of self harm, and PTSD in this chapter. If you feel this might upset or trigger you in any way, then skip the chapter, or don't read it. Thank you, and stay safe my readers. :)

Betty looked at herself in the mirror in her bathroom. She looked at the dark bags under her eyes. Her pale skin. She looked down at the bottle of pills she had been holding in her hand. They were antidepressants. She got them when she was fifteen, and told her mom that she was depressed. She stopped taking them after she got with Jughead. She hadn't been depressed anymore. Until now. She looked back up at herself in the mirror. 

The pills made her feel numb. But numb was better than the grief she felt. The painful grief. She twisted the cap off and took two out. She took a deep breath, before putting them in her mouth, and bending down, collecting water in her mouth from the faucet. She swallowed the pills. She then put concealer under her eyes and did her makeup. _Put on a smile_ , her mother always told her. _Even if it wasn't real._

She had avoided thinking about the events of the night before with Peter. She didn't want to think about it. She decided to avoid him that day at school. As she came downstairs, she saw Polly sitting at the kitchen table with her mother. Her father would be at work. 

"Off to school?" Alice asked. Betty nodded. 

"Yup. I'll see you guys later." She said, grabbing her backpack, and leaving. By the time she got to school, everybody had been acting weird. People who never knew Kevin were acting sad. It made Betty sick. And Angry. She wished she could stop feeling all her emotions altogether. 

There was a bunch of cards and balloons on Kevin's locker. It didn't really surprise Betty. Everyone liked Kevin. There wasn't anything about him to dislike. Betty was about to go find Veronica when she saw Peter walking down the hall. He was right next to Archie, and they were talking. Suddenly Peter's eyes landed on Betty, and she quickly turned around, walking in the opposite direction. 

"Betty." She heard Peter say. She stopped walking, and let out an exasperated sigh, before turning around. Archie must have walked away because he wasn't there. Betty smiled widely at Peter. 

"Oh, hey!" She said. "I didn't see you there." Peter stared at her for a moment. 

"Sure you didn't." He said and then shook his head. "Can we talk?" Suddenly, Betty was thinking about the night before. The memory came to her so suddenly. The way he laid her down and kissed her neck. The way he rubbed her thigh. She felt warmth begin to pool between her legs. "Betty? Are you okay?" He asked. 

"Yeah, I can't do this." She said, turning around and beginning to walk away. 

"Betty, come on." Peter said, quickly getting in front of her. "What did I do?" 

"You didn't do anything, Peter. Okay, listen. I don't think we should hang out anymore." 

"What?" He said, frowning. 

"Okay, this friendship... Or whatever it was, was weird from the beginning. With the cuddling in my car, and letting me sleep in your bed, it's just too weird. And then after last night? I don't think we could be friends after that." She said honestly. "Okay, I'm actually glad Charles walked in on us last night. Who knows what would have happened if he didn't." She said, shrugging. Peter laughed lightly, and Betty frowned. 

"Betty..." Peter glanced around at the students passing them. "I wouldn't have had sex with you last night." He said quietly. She scoffed. 

"Oh, sorry. Are you too good for me now?" She asked. Peter's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. 

"What? No! That's not what I meant." He said, hurrying his words. "I just meant... That I respect you too much to have sex with you on the same night I kiss you for the first time." He explained. "I want to take you on a date." He added. Betty stared at him, and began to move her knee back and forth. 

"I've kissed Archie." She suddenly said. Peter raised an eyebrow. 

"Okay..." He said slowly. 

"We almost had sex once." She added. 

"Why are you telling me this, again?" He asked. 

"Because he's like your brother! Do you want to be with someone who's made out with your brother?" She asked. Peter raised his eyebrows and rubbed the back of his neck before laughing a little. 

"First of all, Archie is nothing like my brother. He's more like a roommate. That I'm being forced to live with. And-" 

"I kissed Jughead too. Like, two days ago." Betty blurted out. Peter shut his mouth and nodded, furrowing his eyebrows. 

"Okay, I feel like I don't need to know these things?" 

"I needed you to know them." Betty said, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"Before I attempt to ask you out for a second time, do you want to continue telling me how you've kissed half of Riverdale?" Peter asked. Betty glared at him, and he put his hands up. "It was a joke." He said softly. "I don't care about the guys you've kissed. I mean, now I know things I wish I didn't but... It doesn't matter. Let me take you on a date. A real date." He said. Betty let out a sigh and looked away from him. 

"When?" She asked quietly. Peter smiled at that. 

"Tonight. At seven." He said. "I'll pick you up." 

"One date, Peter. That's it." Betty said. 

"Mhm." He said, starting to walk away with a smile on his face. 

"I mean it!" She called. 

When Betty had agreed to go on the date with Peter, she had completely forgotten she was grounded. It didn't occur to her until she got home, and saw her mother. So, she went to Polly's room. She knocked, hearing the loud music from inside. Polly opened the door, only enough so she could peek her head through. 

"What?" She asked. 

"Can you sleep in my bed tonight?" Betty asked. Polly frowned. 

"Ew, gross. Why?" 

"I'm not going to be with you. I want to go out but if mom sees I'm not in my room, she'll have a fit. Just be me for a night." Betty said. Polly smirked. 

"Oh, so you won't be coming home? I see you, Betty." 

"I will come home." Betty said, rolling her eyes. "I'll just sleep in your bed if you're asleep by the time I get home." 

"Fine. But don't go through my drawers." She said, before slamming the door closed. Betty shook her head, before walking back to her room. She closed her door behind her and texted Peter. 

_Betty Cooper: Bring a ladder._

_Peter Parker: What_

_Betty Cooper: I'm grounded. I can't leave through the front door._

Betty assumed he understood because he didn't respond after that. Betty took a shower, blow-dried her hair, and then got changed into new clothes. She had just finished up doing her makeup when there was a loud knock. She jumped slightly and rolled her eyes at herself before walking over to the window. Peter was right outside. She opened the window, looking at him. The sun had begun to go down by that time. 

"You're early-" She froze. "Where's the ladder?" She asked. He was standing on a small platform right below the window. He had been wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt with a blue flannel over it. 

"Oh, I didn't bring one." He said, smiling at her. "Are you ready?" 

"How did you get up here?" She said with a frown. 

"I climbed." 

"You climbed?" 

"Yeah. I couldn't find a ladder but then again, I think it would have been more noticeable for me to walk down the sidewalk with a ladder." He explained. Betty stared at him incredulously, and then let out a scoff. 

"Okay... So how exactly did you climb up here?" She asked. Peter smiled softly. 

"I'm... Really good at parkour." He said. Betty nodded as if that was the lamest thing she had ever heard. 

"Mhm. And how do you suggest we get down?" 

"Well, _you_ are going to come out here, and then close your eyes." He said. 

"Seriously?" She asked. He nodded and then held out his hand. She glared at him, before taking his hand and climbing out the window. The platform was so skinny, that she had to take a minute to gain her balance. She almost fell, leaning to the side, but Peter quickly put his hand on her waist. 

"Are you okay?" He asked, and she nodded. "Good. Now close your eyes." 

"Do I have to?" She asked. 

"Yes." He said, smiling with his mouth closed. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. She felt him let go of her hand, and his hand leave her waist. After a moment, she heard footsteps and a loud thud. ”Alright, you can open your eyes now." He called. She opened her eyes and saw he was on the ground. She narrowed her eyebrows. 

"How did you get down there?" She asked. 

"Magic." He said, earning an eye roll from her. 

"So, what do I do?" 

"Now, you jump." 

"What? No way!" She said, holding onto the window sill. "I think I would rather risk getting caught by my mom." 

"Come on. I'll catch you. I've caught you before, haven't I? Except you fell from a place much higher than this." He said. She looked at the ground nervously, and back at him. 

"You promise you'll catch me?" She asked. He nodded, giving her a thumbs up. She rolled her eyes, and let out a sigh. She closed her eyes, and in a few seconds, her feet were no longer touching the platform. She jumped. She gasped, just as she felt herself stop falling, and make a connection with Peter. She had her eyes squeezed shut. When she opened them, Peter was holding onto her. 

"See? I told you I'd catch you." He said. Betty let out a sigh of relief. He knelt down, and let her stand. 

"Where are we going, anyway?" She asked. 

"You'll have to wait and see." He said, beginning to walk away. Betty followed him to the curb, where May's car was. 

"We're taking May's car?" Betty asked. 

"Hey, you once told me this was the coolest car ever." He said, opening the door for Betty. Betty laughed and got in. He shut it and then went around to his side, getting in the car. Betty looked around at the interior of the station wagon as Peter started the engine. 

The ride to wherever they were going was mostly silent. It was dark outside, and she had no idea where they were going. She only knew that he was going towards Sweetwater River. 

"So, is this the part where it turns out you're the killer, and I'm next?" She asked. Peter glanced at her, and furrowed his eyebrows, looking back at the road. 

"Jesus, Betty. That was morbid." He said. Betty smiled and looked at her lap. 

"Sorry." She said quietly. "I know I shouldn't be joking about it. I guess it just makes the situation feel less realistic if I make jokes." Peter nodded but didn't say anything. "Charles's boyfriend tried to kill me at my prom last year," Betty said suddenly. She looked over at Peter, who was frowning as if deciphering if he had heard her right. 

"What happened?" He finally asked. 

"People were getting murdered. Like always. I was with Jughead, and Veronica, and Archie. I had to go to the bathroom, and nobody was in the halls. Prom itself was in the gym. It was so dark." Betty paused, thinking about the memory. "There's a scar on my waist, from where he shoved me against a door. The handle cut me. I remember... Being in a closet. There was a dead body with me, and I just kept screaming, because I thought I was going to die." She swallowed hard. "The worst part was, I trusted Chic. He was like family to me." 

"I'm sorry." Peter said softly. Betty looked out the window and noticed they weren't on the road anymore. 

"Okay, seriously, Peter. Where are we going?" She asked. The car came to a stop, and Peter put the car in park. 

"We're here." He said, before getting out of the car. Betty opened her door and got out. She noticed they were right by Sweetwater River. She followed Peter to the back of the car, where he opened the back, bringing it down. Betty saw there were a couple of white bags with the Pop's logo on it. She looked at Peter, and he smiled. "Is this okay?" He asked. She laughed lightly and nodded. 

"Yeah." She said softly. He sat on the back part of the car, and she did the same. He handed her a bag, and she opened it. It was silent for a couple of minutes, nothing but the sound of crickets, and the water moving slowly in the river. They had begun to eat slowly. 

"I knew Tony Stark." Peter said. Betty looked at him and nodded. 

"Archie told me you interned for him. A Stark internship." She said. Peter laughed, and bit the inside of his cheek, shaking his head. 

"Yeah. The Stark internship." He said. "Unbelievable." He muttered. 

"What?" She asked. He shook his head. 

"Nothing." He said. "It was more than that. We were close. I think Tony was the second closest thing I've ever had to a father. So when he died..." Peter shook his head, and put the rest of the old in the white bag, tossing it in the car behind them. "The only ever funeral I've been to was my uncles. And so when I went to Tony's, I felt the exact same type of grief. Like I just lost a part of my family." Betty took his hand, and he looked at her. 

"I'm sorry." She said quietly. He shrugged. "You know... Today before school, I took antidepressants. I mean, they take a week to really work, but I just didn't want to feel so sad. I'm so sick of feeling sad all the time." She said. 

"Do you ever have panic attacks?" He asked. "Like, when you think about certain things for too long." He wasn't looking at her. She shook her head. 

"No. I don't." She said softly. Peter nodded. She studied him. 

"The reason I... The reason I was with Jughead, the other day was because we were looking for Spider-Man." She said. This caught Peter's attention. He looked at her, listening intently. "Well, he's only proven we can't even be friends." Peter looked like he wasn't interested in that part of the mission. He nodded, nonetheless. 

"Uh, you're looking for Spider-Man?" He asked. Betty nodded. As if she realized something, her eyes lit up and she looked at Peter. 

"Have you ever met him?" She asked. Peter laughed as if that was ridiculous. 

"Of course I haven't met him. Why would you say that?" 

"The Stark internship." She said, then shrugged. Peter shook his head. 

"He likes to keep to himself." He muttered. 

"Well, apparently he's just a kid." Betty said. Peter looked at her, with a bewildered look. 

"What? Why-Why would you say that?"

"We went to this cabin in the middle of the woods. The same cabin he took me to after I got beat by those Serpents. There were a bunch of textbooks in there. High school textbooks." She said. Peter nodded, with an over-exaggerated smile on his face. 

"Wow that's so interesting." He said, looking away from her. "I thought you, like, hated him or something." 

"Well he saved my life." Betty said. "It's hard to hate him now. I just... I remember him being so gentle with me when I was in that cabin." She said, looking off into the woods. Peter looked at her and rubbed the back of his neck. Silence filled the space between them. Betty looked at Peter and smiled softly at him. It was pretty dark outside, only the headlights of the car, and the moon illuminating the light. The sound of crickets, and the water, lapping against the shore was eerily calm. 

"I know you have nightmares." She whispered. In any other situation, Peter would have been mad at Archie for telling Betty about that. But he wasn't thinking about Archie. 

"The night we spent together, I didn't have any nightmares." He said. Betty glanced down at his hand, in hers, and then back up at his eyes. She looked at him through her lashes. With his other hand, he placed it on her cheek and stroked her face lightly with his thumb. "Can I kiss you?" He whispered. She nodded.

He leaned in and kissed her softly. It was slow, and sweet at first. The more they kissed, the more passionate it got. She placed her hand on the back of his neck, and he pulled her close. She felt their tongue's tangling with each other. Suddenly, they both heard a ringtone, and they slowly pulled away. It was Peter's phone. Peter looked at Betty apologetically and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He glanced at the name and looked at her. 

"I'm sorry, it might be important." He said. 

"It's fine. Go ahead." She said, smiling and looking away from him. He answered it. 

"Happy, I'm kind of busy right now." He said, turning away from Betty. He was silent for a moment, listening. "Okay." He said, before hanging up. He looked back at Betty. 

"Everything okay?" She asked. Peter smiled and nodded. 

"Yup." He said. "Just... A friend." 

"Named Happy?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Peter laughed and nodded. 

"It's a nickname." He said. Betty nodded. 

"Well, this is probably the most depressing date I've ever been on." She admitted. 

"You kind of started it." Peter said. Betty shrugged. 

"Yeah, I guess I did. It got better at the end, though." She said. "Can you drive me home?" He nodded. 

"Yeah." He said, standing up. She stood up and walked to her side of the car while he shut the trunk. By the time they got home, Betty was feeling tired. Peter pulled up in front of her house and put the car in park. He looked at her and smiled. "Well, you said only one date. So, I guess we won't be hanging out anymore." He said. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"Shut up, nerd." She said, smiling. "I had a temper tantrum after you left, so I think I was just a little nervous." She said, shrugging. "Charles won't be talking to me for a long time." Peter took her hand and nodded. 

"I'm sorry." He said. She watched as he frowned, looking at her palm. He was looking at the crescent moon scars. She quickly pulled her hand away. "Betty." He said softly. "Let me see." He nodded at her hand. Betty hesitated, before slowly holding out her hand. He gently took it and looked at the scars. "Did you do this to yourself?" He asked. Betty didn't say anything. He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. She smiled and took her hand back. 

"Goodnight." She said, before leaning over and kissing him softly, and then getting out of the car. Peter watched her walk up the steps to her house, and then silently open the door, and walk in. He then pulled the car up so it was in front of his house. 

Betty closed the door behind her as quietly as she could, and then tiptoed up the stairs and to her room. When she walked in, Polly was laying in her bed, asleep. She was turned away from the door, so if her mother walked in she would think it's Betty. Betty smiled and turned around to go to Polly's room. 

"Betty?" Polly said, in a sleepy voice. Betty turned back around. 

"Yeah?" 

"Come here." She said, patting the place on the bed beside her lazily. She was half asleep. Betty walked over, and crawled into the bed, getting under the blankets. Polly turned around, and smiled at Betty, closing her eyes. "How was it?" She asked quietly. Betty stared at the ceiling, contemplating the question. 

"Interesting." She said softly. Polly nodded, with her eyes closed. 

"Jughead was here." She said. Betty turned her head and looked at her sister. 

"What?" 

"I told him you were with Peter." She hummed. 

"How did you know I was with Peter?" 

"Who else would you be with?" She asked, smiling. She closed her eyes again and began to drift off to sleep. Betty looked down at Polly. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark. She noticed Polly's eyes. It looked like she had been crying. Betty fell asleep a few minutes later. 

The next day at school, Betty walked over to the table outside all her friends had been at. They all decided to eat outside instead of the cafeteria. Archie and Reggie were having a debate, and Veronica looked miserable. Her eyes lit up when she saw Betty. 

"Thank god. Can you tell these geniuses to stop giving me a migraine?" She asked. Betty glared at Reggie and Archie before sitting down. She looked around the table, and then back at Veronica. 

"Where's Peter?" She asked. 

"Oh, he's sick." Archie said. Betty frowned. 

"He's sick?" 

"Yeah, he decided not to come to school today. His stomach hurt or something." Archie shrugged. 

"But that doesn't make sense I was just with him-" She paused, looking at Veronica. She was looking at Betty, raising an eyebrow. "Never mind." 

"Who cares? Fuck that guy." Reggie said. Archie let out a sigh. 

"Reg, come on man. Not today."

"No, I'm being serious. After that stunt he pulled with Jughead, he should be in jail. Jughead should have pressed charges." Reggie said. Betty raised an eyebrow and looked at Veronica. Veronica rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

"Reggie, you used to harass Jughead for three years straight. This year, Peter comes, and all of a sudden you're upset that he broke Jughead's nose? Now all you do is harass Peter for minding his own business. I'm seeing a pattern, here." Betty snapped. "A pattern that shows just how much of a grade-A asshole you are." Reggie glared at her, and his nostrils flared. Archie laughed nervously. 

"Alright, thank you for that Betty." Archie said. 

"Yeah, what's up with you today?" Veronica asked, laughing lightly. "I feel like two days you were mad at Peter for just looking at you wrong."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Betty asked. "I don't know why you guys think I hate him so much, we're always hanging out." Veronica shrugged. 

"I was just making an observation." She said. 

"Hey guys." Jughead suddenly said, walking up to their table. Veronica rolled her eyes. 

"Are we like, talking to you now?" She asked. He let out a sigh and put his hands in his pockets. 

"I just want to talk to Betty, you can put your claws away." He said. Veronica looked at Betty, who was looking away from all of them. She finally nodded. 

"Yeah, whatever." Betty muttered, standing up. Jughead followed her as she walked away. "What do you want, Jughead?" 

"How was hanging out with Peter, at midnight?" He asked. Betty closed her eyes and shook her head. 

"Polly shouldn't have told you that." 

"Why, so I wouldn't find out you lied to me?" 

"No, Jughead because it's none of your business." She snapped. "I can hang out with whoever I want." 

"Fine. But when I kiss you and then ask if you can't kiss me because of Peter, don't lie to me." 

"I couldn't kiss you because we broke up. I don't _want_ to kiss you." She said. Jughead bit the inside of his cheek and looked down. Betty let out a sigh and looked away. "I don't want to hurt you." She muttered. "You're being super insecure and I don't understand why because we are over Jug. For good." 

"It doesn't have to be that way." He said. "Just answer one question. Just one." Betty hesitated, before nodding. "Are you with Peter?" 

"I can't answer that." She said. "Because I have no idea myself. But I need to figure this out without you whining like a puppy." She said coldly. Jughead frowned, and then let go of her arm. 

"Fuck you, Betty." He said. Betty stared at him, flaring her nostrils. She began to feel the rage build up inside. 

"Fuck me? Fuck me?" She asked. Jughead let out a sigh and closed his eyes. "Say it again." 

"No." He said, taking a step back. 

"No, go on. Say it again." She said. She got real close to him. "If you ever say something like that to me again, I'll kill you. You got it?" She said quietly. Jughead stared at her incredulously. 

"You're fucking crazy." He said, turning around to walk away. She felt her chest begin to move up and down faster as she breathed, and the noise all around her faded into the background. She did what she hadn't done in a really long time. Since her Junior year. She blacked out. She shoved him as hard as she could, and he turned back around as if he didn't believe it. 

"You think I'm so crazy?" She yelled. "You're crazy!" She shoved him again. 

"Betty, stop!" He said, frowning down at her. 

"You're just a stupid drug dealer!" She yelled. His eyes widened, and people began to look at them. "Yeah, you think I don't know? Everybody knows! Everybody knows how you deal drugs because you're a Serpent." She spat. 

"Lower your voice!" He said, trying to keep his own voice down. She only shoved at him again, and then she began to pound on his chest. Suddenly, she felt hands grab onto her biceps from behind, pulling her back firmly, but gently. 

"Betty, Betty, hey." A soft voice said. She began to fight against whoever was grabbing her until she turned her head. It was Peter. He was looking at her, concerned. He glanced at Jughead, and then back at her. "Are you okay?" He asked. Betty turned her head, looking at everyone in the courtyard staring at her. She looked at Jughead, who was staring at her in pure shock. She felt her eyes fill with water, and her own mouth begin to tremble uncontrollably. She looked back at Peter, who never took his eyes off of her. "Betty..." He began, but she forced his hands off her and ran past him. 

She ran into the bathroom, shortly after entering the school. She locked herself in a stall and squeezed her eyes shut, covering her ears with her hands. Her heart was thudding in her ears, and she wanted it to stop. She wanted everything to stop. Every memory she worked so hard to shut out was coming back. 

When she closed her eyes, all she saw was the dark hallways of the school. The adrenaline and anxiety so strong, and unbearable. When she turned around, she saw Chic in that creepy costume that made chills go down her spine. She ran and ran, but he caught up to her, slamming her against that door. If she touched her own hip, she could feel blood, where the door handle ripped through the fabric of her dress. She was beginning to breathe harder and harder just thinking about it. 

She remembered Peter asking her if she had ever had a panic attack. She had said no, and she had meant it. But she worked so hard each day to never think about that one awful night. The night everybody said was supposed to be the best night of high school. This was the first time she had ever truly thought about every detail. She suddenly felt suffocated, like she couldn't breathe. She heard footsteps, coming into the bathroom, and squeezed her eyes shut. 

"Betty?" Peter called. She put her hands on the walls of the stalls, beginning to gasp for air. "Betty, what's wrong?" He asked, standing in front of the stall she was in. 

"What's wrong with me?" She choked out, beginning to cry, while she gasped for hair. 

"Nothing's wrong with you, Betty. Please open the door." Peter said, his voice full of worry. 

"I can't, I can't." 

"Yes you can, just open the door for me. Please, let me help you." He pleaded. Betty's vision began to blur, and she unlocked the door, her hand feeling like it weighed a million pounds. Once Peter heard the door unlock, he opened it, and Betty came out. He looked at her, and watched her try to breathe, still gasping. "Hey, hey." He said, putting his hand on her cheek. "Just look at me. Listen to my voice. You're okay. Just keep looking at me." She looked at him, and her breathing slowly began to turn back to normal. 

She wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him, burying her face in his shoulder. He hugged her back, and leaned against the opening of the stall, letting out a sigh that might have been relief. They were like that for a couple of minutes, when Betty began giggling. Peter frowned. 

"What are you laughing at?" He asked. Betty pulled away, and sniffed, looking at him. 

"You're in the girl's bathroom." She said, before starting to laugh again. Peter raised his eyebrows and smiled at her. 

"Yeah, sorry. I wanted to make sure you were okay." He said honestly. Betty nodded. 

"The whole school thinks I'm crazy." She said. "And I had no idea Jughead was a drug dealer... I just guessed. Now I know." She said, looking away from him. "I'm not sure if you heard me say that." 

"I heard it." He said. "And nobody thinks you're crazy. You lost one of your best friends. You're allowed to... Act a little different." He said. Betty realized they were both missing class at that moment, and lunch had ended, but Peter didn't seem to care. 

"I thought you were sick." Betty said, looking at him. He nodded. 

"I feel much better. I was a little dizzy this morning. But then, I wanted to see you." He said, smiling at her with his mouth closed. She stared at him, deciphering if he was lying to her or not. She decided that she didn't have the energy to care, and shrugged. 

"What is this?" She asked. He raised his eyebrows. 

"What's what?" He asked. 

"This." She said, motioning between the two of them. 

"A really great friendship?" He asked, humorously. Betty rolled her eyes. 

"I don't kiss my friends." She said. 

"Do I need to remind you of a couple of months ago, in Archie's truck?" He asked. Betty rolled her eyes and moved towards the door. 

"Okay, okay." He said, getting in front of her. "I was joking." He said softly. "Will, you, Betty Cooper, be my girlfriend?" He asked. She looked at him, and then glanced away. All she could think about was how Kevin would freak out if she told him she was with Peter. In a good way. He would be excited. 

"Yeah." She said softly. Peter frowned. 

"Yikes. That was very hesitant, and not the-" Betty cut him off by pulling him down by his shirt and kissing him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise but kissed her back nonetheless. She pulled away after a moment and looked at him. 

"Is that better?" She asked. He nodded quickly. 

"Yeah. That will work." He said nervously. Betty smiled and began to laugh. 

"You're a nerd." She said. 

"I'm sorry I'm not a football player... Or a gang member." He said. Betty shrugged. 

"It's alright. I have a thing for nerds." She said. Peter laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Betty looked at the door behind him. "We're both going to get detention." She said. Peter nodded in agreement. 

"Probably." He agreed. Betty laughed. 

"Walk me to class?" She asked. He nodded. 

"Yeah." He said softly. 


	14. Shot

Peter had woken up, to Archie slamming the door shut to the bathroom. He winced in annoyance and sat up in bed. Usually, he just woke up to Archie's alarm clock. But it was either the alarm or Archie himself. He made so much noise in the morning. He had taken Betty home from the hospital the night before, and he couldn't stop thinking about the stupid situation he had dug himself into. He was digging his own grave.

He knew what he was doing when he saved Betty. It had been raining, and he was in the Southside, scouting the place. Ever since the murder of Fangs Fogerty, Peter had been working his ass off, trying to find the killer. But it was hard. It was mostly drug deals, and plain out gang violence in the Southside. Peter even checked out Jughead. As far as he was concerned, Jughead was innocent. Despite the fact he, himself had been dealing drugs. Peter often wondered if Betty knew. 

He had been listening in on a drug deal in the Southside, trying to see if he could get any information. He got nothing. So, he began to mess around on a roof, thinking. He had his arms spread out, and his mask on while he balanced on the edge of the roof of a building. He was mapping out his next move in his head. He wasn't sure if the killer would strike again, which made it ten times harder to find who did it. 

He froze, when he heard a bunch of voices below, in an alley. It had started raining, and his suit was getting soaked. It didn't bother him much, besides the tightness. His suit was already skin tight. But if it got wet, it got even worse. 

"Please leave me alone." A familiar voice said. Peter knew that voice anywhere. He leaned over to see Betty, and three Serpents following her. She had begun to run. He watched as one grabbed her, and she got hit in the head with a rock. Rage coursed through Peter's veins. He had seen enough. He quickly jumped down, and suddenly the men were looking at him, with wide, shocked eyes. 

"So you like hitting girls?" Peter asked. He suddenly shot his webs at one of the men, locking his hand to a wall. One of them came up from behind him, grabbing his arm, but Peter quickly elbowed him in the face, knocking him out. He webbed his limbs to the floor, and the last man came at him. He quickly kicked him to the floor, webbing his limbs as well. He then turned and ran over to Betty. 

Her eyes were barely open, and there was blood coming out of her forehead. Peter lifted up her shirt a little, to see there was a bruise forming on her side. One of the men had dropped her, and she must have landed hard on the concrete. He lifted her up, putting her head on his knee. 

"Hey, hey." He said quickly. "You're okay. You're gonna be okay." He knew there was a chance she could have recognized his voice, but he didn't care. He hated seeing her like this. He even felt guilty. He saw her running from the men, and for a minute he watched. It was only a minute, but still. He should have jumped in right away. He picked her up, one arm under her legs, and the other supporting her back. She was completely unconscious at that point. 

Fifteen minutes later, Peter had taken her to the cabin he had discovered in the woods. It was an accident, really. But he saw it as a good opportunity to keep some of the stuff he couldn't keep in his room. Having a roommate made it difficult to make web fluid, and even hide his web-shooters. Although, he never left his suit at the cabin. He always kept his suit in its protective case, under his bed. 

He laid Betty down on some blankets in front of the fireplace, and quickly threw some logs into it, lighting a match and throwing it in. He took his mask off and looked down at Betty. Her clothes were soaked, and he knew it would probably just be best to take them off, so she wouldn't get sick. He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his wet hair.

He looked down at Betty's unconscious body and shook his head. "I'm so sorry." He whispered as if she could hear him. He lifted her up, taking her shirt off, and then tossing it to the side. He did his best to not look at her body, as he took her pants off. Although a couple of times he found himself glancing at her exposed body, he mentally scolded himself and quickly looked away. His teenage hormones were beginning to annoy him. 

He quickly covered her with a blanket, and moved her closer to the fire, he then looked at her head, which had at least stopped bleeding. It looked like it needed stitches, though. She had begun to stir, and Peter quickly grabbed his mask and put it on. He quickly ordered Karen to put on the voice-changer, before she became fully conscious and recognized his voice. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. 

He had grabbed the only med kit he had in the cabin and took the bottle of alcohol out of it. Hearing her scream was the worst sound he had ever heard. He wasn't a professional at doing stitches, he knew that. But he had done them before. Once on himself, and another time he had done them for Harry after he cut himself with a knife on accident. But he did his best, to stitch her head. 

She went in and out of consciousness throughout the next three days. Peter went to school during the day, and it was hard to listen to everybody wonder where Betty was. Her mom put up hell with her own son and sheriff Keller. She wanted every single police officer looking for her daughter. He felt guilty. But he had to make sure Betty was okay. Looking back at it, he didn't know why he didn't just drop her off right outside the hospital, or even at her house. He wasn't really thinking clearly. 

He was just glad she was okay in the end. He had been walking through the woods one day, in his suit. He was going to the cabin, and it was right after school. He was on the phone with Harry, as he walked. He would have used his webs to get there faster, but he couldn't hear Harry very well, and he didn't mind walking, he had swung most of the way anyway. 

"Oh yeah. Do you still have any of your old textbooks? From Midtown?" Harry asked. 

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Peter asked. 

"Because I'm tutoring a junior, and she's in Chemistry. The same class you were in last year. I took Chemistry, like my sophomore year and the textbooks are different. Can you send me the Author's name?" He asked. Peter rolled his eyes. 

"You're tutoring now?" He asked. 

"Well I'm not actually going to be teaching her things." Harry said as if that much was obvious. Peter scoffed. 

"You're disgusting." He said. 

"Yeah, thanks. Will you just do it?" He asked. 

"Fine." Peter muttered, stopping in his tracks. He arrived at the cabin, but the door was open, and he heard faint talking. "Damn it." He muttered. 

"What?" Harry asked. 

"Listen, I got to go. Can I call you later?" He asked. 

"Yeah, sure. Don't forget-" Peter hung up the phone, cutting Harry off. He climbed up the wall of the cabin and then got on the roof. He attached a web to the edge, and then hung upside down, peeking into the window. He raised his eyebrows. It was Betty and Jughead. What surprised him the most, was the position they were in. Jughead was inches away from Betty, and he had her against the wall. 

He watched as Jughead kissed her, and Peter looked away. He wasn't really a type to get jealous. At least not in a long time. Seeing Jughead kiss Betty, was a sight that he never wanted to see again. When he looked again, she was kissing him back. Peter felt his nostrils begin to flare. His gut clenched. She suddenly pushed Jughead away and looked away from him. This brought our relief in Peter. 

"I can't do this." Betty said. Peter felt triumph. It was a little weird, though. He had convinced himself he had no feelings whatsoever for Betty. That could have been denial. He wasn't too sure. What he did know, was that he was glad Betty had rejected Jughead. It could have just been because he wasn't the biggest fan of Jughead.

Peter wasn't really one to judge someone he barely knew, but over the months, he had decided he didn't like Jughead. He was real good at pretending that wasn't how he felt, though. With the exception of punching Jughead out cold the same night, he saved Betty. He was really mad at himself for punching Jughead. He didn't want to hurt anybody. He had just lost his temper, being shoved multiple times.

That was why he had gone to the Southside. He was stressed out after the incident at the carnival. He almost convinced himself he had killed Jughead. Although, he knew he hadn't. He was trying to get his mind off of it, by getting back to work and doing what he did best.

Peter knew he had been messy, as much as he tried not to be. He knew he had to stop showing people his cuts and bruises. It was stupid of him to let Betty know how fast his ribs had healed. His cells regenerated three times faster than the average human being. But he should have pretended. She already had been suspicious of him multiple times, and it was getting out of hand.

Thankfully, her suspicions began to fade when they got together. He hadn't even planned that. It just happened. Peter had decided to change his tactic. Listening in on conversations and drug deals just weren't enough anymore. He had to ask questions. It was the same night that he kissed Betty for the first time. Well, in a way. 

He decided to start with a Serpent named Tallboy. From what Peter gathered, he had known Fangs personally, and he had been in charge of most of the drug deals. FP Jones was the leader, but as far as Peter was concerned, he didn't like dealing with the drugs. So, he just assumed the murders had something to do with the drugs. It would make sense. 

Peter also discovered Fangs was one of Kevin's ex-boyfriends. He honestly had no idea if that was connected or not. But he wanted to find out. Tallboy had just exited the Whyte Wyrm-Peter had never heard such a ridiculous name-to take out the trash. Peter jumped down from the roof he had been sitting on, and leaned against the wall, waiting for the big man to turn around. He crossed his arms over his chest, nonchalantly. 

The big man frowned and turned around. When he saw Peter, in the red spandex, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. Peter pointed his wrist out, and shot a web at his hand, connecting his wrist to the outside of the building. Tallboy frowned and tried desperately to disconnect his hand to the building. 

"Well, hey there." Peter said cheerily. 

"What the hell?" Tallboy grunted out, still struggling. 

"Oh yeah, that's not going to break. It will dissolve in two hours." He said, nodding at the man's hand. 

"I'll kill you!" He growled. 

"Yeah, sure." Peter said, laughing lightly. "I just have some simple questions for you." 

"Why would I answer anything you ask me?" He asked incredulously. Peter shrugged. 

"Because I have video evidence of you ordering teenage boys to deal your drugs." Peter said. Tallboy frowned. 

"I don't believe you." He said. Peter pulled his phone out, and pulled up a video, holding it out so Tallboy could see. It was a video, of him handing each boy a bag, and then giving them locations. 

"Do you believe me now?" Peter asked. Tallboy only glared at him. "Don't worry. I won't go to the police if you cooperate. Drug dealers aren't exactly my goal right now. I'm here about the murders of Fangs Fogerty and Kevin Keller." He said, putting his phone away. 

"What's wrong with your voice?" Tallboy suddenly asked. 

"There's nothing wrong with my voice!" Peter said defensively. "What do you know about the murders?" Tallboy let out a sigh. 

"I have no idea." He said. 

"Seriously? You're going to risk going to jail?" Peter asked. 

"I'm being serious. All the Serpents were really upset after Fangs died. Kevin, not so much. I know FP's boy was torn up about it. Jughead Jones. A couple of the other kids that go to school with him too." He explained. 

"Do you think a Serpent did this?" Peter asked. Tallboy shook his head, almost offended. 

"Hell no. I'm convinced it was a Ghoulie. They hate us. Although, Malachi, is a Ghoulie. He's always at the bar, and nobody really has a problem with him. He's a creep, though. He only comes to the bar because of Polly Cooper." Tallboy explained. Peter frowned. 

"Polly Cooper? Is she a Ghoulie?" Peter asked. 

"No. She's not in any gangs. But she likes to hang around both the Serpents and Ghoulies. She's a bit wild, that one. She has an on and off relationship with Malachi." Tallboy said. 

"Do you think Malachi is the murderer?" Peter asked. Tallboy thought for a moment. 

"It's possible. He's a Ghoulie, and he's always here. He's in the bar right now. With both the Cooper girls." Tallboy said. Peter stared at the man hard. 

"Did you just say _both_ the Cooper girls?" Peter asked. Tallboy nodded. 

"Betty, the little one came with her sister. Malachi's been giving her all types of weird looks all night." Tallboy said, before shrugging. Peter's gut squeezed. "I don't get why she still comes to the bar. She's not with Jughead Jones anymore. Any protection she had before is gone." He added. Peter stared at the man, and suddenly he heard a door slam open. He turned to see a bunch of Serpents come out of the bar and into the alley. 

"Well this isn't good." Peter muttered. Tallboy grinned. One man looked between Peter, and Tallboy webbed to the building. He then glared at Peter, before pulling a gun out from the belt of his pants, and pointing it at Peter. All the other Serpents followed his lead. Peter put his hands up on either side of his head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Peter warned. 

"What are you going to do about it, Spider-Boy?" The man called. Peter let out a sigh. 

"Well if you're going to be rude about it..." He said, before pointing his wrist at the man, and firing a web at the gun. All of a sudden, all the Serpents began shooting at him, and he quickly webbed away, dodging the bullets. He quickly began webbing each and every one of their guns, either throwing them to the floor or just blocking the barrel. He hadn't noticed the one Serpent cutting Tallboy out of his webs. 

He had been so focused on everyone else, that even when every cell in his body warned him, he wasn't fast enough to block the knife. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side, and let out a groan, turning. Tallboy had stabbed him in the side with a pocketknife. He groaned out and sighed in disappointment. 

"Seriously?" He asked, before webbing Tallboy in the face, and then shoving him back against the wall. He looked around. Either the Serpents were gone, and had left quickly, or Peter had stuck them to something. He looked down, and clenched his jaw shut, before pulling the knife out. He let out a pained gasp, dropping the knife and grabbing his side. There was a lot of blood, but as he looked closer, he could tell the knife hadn't hit any internal organs. He would be bleeding a lot more. 

He had limped his way home, attempting to swing himself every so often, but every muscle in his abs aching with pain. As soon as he got home, he had taken his blood-soaked suit off. He looked at the wound in a mirror, still bleeding. He even tried to stitch it and clean it himself. He had been failing miserably. It hurt, a lot. And he couldn't focus. He felt like he was going to pass out any second. 

He seriously considered calling May. Then he realized how mad and worried she would be, asking him never to put on his suit again, despite the fact he had been in worse situations. He thought about calling Happy. What was Happy going to do? He was all the way in New York City. He never thought about going to the hospital.

The reason he was so against the hospital in Riverdale, was because it was a small-town hospital, with a small-town doctor. He had been down that road before. The doctors would only run tests, to see how abnormal and off the charts the tests would end up, and they would talk. Happy provided Peter with doctors that were not supposed to say anything about his identity, and understand the way his body worked at the same time. 

So, he did the stupidest thing he could ever do. He went to Betty. He had put on a shirt, and pants before going to her house, and banging on the door. He had thought about the possibility of one of her parents opening the door, so he made sure none of their cars were in the driveway. They weren't. 

When she opened the door, he had been caught off guard by her outfit. It wasn't her style at all, and it was revealing. He remembered what Tallboy had said earlier. She had been at the bar earlier. It made more sense. But he wasn't supposed to know that. He looked down at her outfit momentarily and raised his eyebrows. He noticed the look of horror on her face as she looked at him. 

He seriously hadn't planned on kissing her. But it confirmed his feelings for her. He had only been slightly mortified when her way older brother had walked in on them, with Peter literally on top of her, and kissing her. He did know, that he was really happy when she agreed to go on that date with him. He was happy when she agreed to be his girlfriend, in the slightly awkward way that he asked. In the girl's bathroom. 

Everything seemed to calm down, about a week after Betty got into that argument with Jughead in the courtyard at school. Besides the murders, things seemed to be normal. Peter was at home, with Veronica and Archie in the living room. It had just started to get dark outside, and it was a Friday. Betty was going to be there soon. She wanted to tell Archie and Veronica about their relationship that day since they were all hanging out.

Peter was fine with it. He didn't really care. The only reason he hadn't already told Archie, was because he wasn't sure if Betty wanted that. He was pretty sure they were already suspecting it anyway since Betty had been distant from Veronica lately. Also the fact Betty and Peter were spending a suspicious amount of time together alone. 

Peter glared at the couple, both sitting in the chair next to the couch. He had been laying on the couch, and they were watching a show. Except Archie and Veronica hadn't actually been watching. They had just gotten over their millionth argument of the week and were being all touchy. Peter was seriously sick of living with Archie. A few days before, he had a screaming match with Veronica, about something so stupid he couldn't even remember. 

Even Fred was sick of it, he kept making excuses to leave the house. He stared at the couple now in disgust. Veronica was sitting on Archie's lap, and she was whispering in his ear. He rolled his eyes and laid his head back. There was a knock on the door, and Peter quickly stood up. He was hoping it was Betty. He quickly left the room, walking over to the door. He opened it and saw Betty standing there. She smiled at him and had her hands in her pockets. 

"Hey." He said. 

"Hi." She said, walking up to him and kissing him. He still wasn't quite used to that. She pulled away and stared at him. "What's wrong with you?" She asked. "You're being weird." He raised his eyebrows. 

"No I'm not. I'm not-I'm not being weird." He said quickly. Betty raised an eyebrow, and Peter let out a sigh. He leaned in and kissed her, and then he began to give her tiny kisses all over her face. She began to giggle and shook her head. 

"Okay, I'm sorry. I forgot you're just naturally a weirdo." She said, shrugging. His jaw dropped, and he looked overly offended. She began to laugh again. Suddenly, Betty turned her head, and her eyebrows raised when she saw Archie and Veronica, standing in the opening of the living room, looking at them. Peter turned his head and furrowed his eyebrows. 

"You owe me five dollars." Archie said, to Veronica. She rolled her eyes and glared up at him. 

"What?" Betty asked. 

"Oh, we bet on you guys." Archie said. 

"What was the bet?" Peter asked. 

"That you were together." Veronica said, dubiously. Betty crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Well, we made it after Peter followed you to the girl's bathroom." 

"How did you-" Betty began. 

"Because I was going to see if you were okay, and when I saw Peter walk into the girl's bathroom I assumed he wasn't just blind and couldn't read signs." Veronica said. "Anyway, I still believed you two weren't together because of your undying hatred for Peter, but Archie said you've been coming over an awful lot lately and it's not for him so." She shrugged. Peter frowned, and looked at Betty. 

"Undying hatred?" He asked. She waved a hand dismissively at him. 

"You guys are idiots." Betty pointed out. Her phone vibrated in her purse, and she glared at Veronica, before taking it out. She looked at the screen, and her mouth opened. 

"What?" Archie asked. Betty looked up, and let out a small sigh. 

"Jughead's in the hospital." She said. Peter frowned, and Veronica gaped at Betty. 

"What?" 

"He's in surgery." She said, sounding defeated. Peter looked at Archie, who was staring at Betty as if she couldn't be serious. "Will you drive me to the hospital?" She asked Archie. Peter stayed silent. Archie nodded. 

"Yeah... Just let me get my keys." He said. 

"I'm coming to." Veronica said. "Come on." She said, taking Betty's arm, and leading her out the door. Peter stared at the closed door, narrowing his eyes. Archie came back from the other room and looked at Peter. 

"Are you coming?" He asked. 

"I think I'll pass." He said, smiling sarcastically at Archie. Archie nodded. 

"Understandable." He said, and then froze. "I hope you know, Betty's only worried because he's her childhood best friend and not her ex-boyfriend." He said. Peter glared at him. 

"Why would you even say that to me?" He asked. Archie put his hands up in defense. 

"Just trying to help your ego." He said. Peter looked at him incredulously. 

"Go to the hospital!"

"Okay." He said, walking out the door. "Jeez." Peter shook his head and pulled out his own phone. He had a missed call from Ned. He called him back. 

"Finally. Where have you been?" 

"I've been a little busy." Peter said, letting out a sigh, and running his hand over his face. "I'm exhausted, Ned I haven't slept in a day." 

"What's up?" Ned asked. 

"I can't put my suit on during the day." Peter admitted. "Like after school, and stuff? I've been going out at midnight and coming back at the crack of dawn." 

"What makes you so busy all of a sudden?" Ned asked. Peter contemplated telling Ned about Betty. 

"Having a girlfriend." He said, wincing at the word. 

"What?" Ned yelled. Peter pulled the phone away from his ear momentarily. "How long?" 

"Just a week." 

"Why didn't you tell me?" 

"Because I knew you would make a big deal out of it." 

"Rude." Ned said, sounding offended. 

"Anyway, I can't work on a good schedule lately. We're always together, it's exhausting." 

"Don't let her hear you say that." Ned said. 

"It's not a bad thing, I love hanging out with her. It's just... When I'm with her I'm thinking about some guy in town plotting his next murder, and then when I put the suit on, I'm thinking about her." Peter admitted. 

"It's not your first relationship, Peter." Ned said incredulously. 

"No, Ned. The only difference is that I could tell MJ, Hey MJ, I actually have to go find a murderer right now so can we hang out later? No, with Betty she has no idea. If I make excuses she's going to get suspicious because she's wired that way. Sometimes I feel like she's May. She knows everything. It freaks me out." Peter sat on the couch. 

"Okay, comparing girlfriends? Dick move. Comparing your girlfriend to your aunt? Weird." Ned said. Peter rolled his eyes. 

"You know what I mean." 

"So tell her." 

"Are you crazy? No way. She's never going to find out." 

"Then your relationship, is a ticking time bomb." Ned said honestly. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter asked. 

"Peter, eventually she's going to continue asking questions. The only reason she stopped is because she has to trust you now. You're her friend anymore. Or her acquaintance. You're her boyfriend. But soon, she's going to realize nothing's changed, and when you refuse to tell her you don't actually spend your time reading books in the library, she's going to dump you." Ned said, shrugging. 

"That won't happen." Peter said defensively. 

"Where is she now, anyway?" Ned asked. Peter hesitated. 

"At the hospital." He said. 

"What?" 

"No. Not for herself. Uh, her ex is in the hospital. She's there... With him." Peter said. Ned suddenly began laughing, and Peter regretted telling him that. "It's not like that!" 

"That has got to hurt." 

"If MJ was in the hospital, I would come to see her." Peter said. Ned went silent on the other end. 

"Why would you do that?" He asked. 

"Because... I care about her." Peter said honestly. 

"Peter, why are you in a relationship with Betty if you still care about MJ?" Ned asked. Peter scoffed. 

"Are you being serious?" 

" _Yes._ " He said. 

"Ned, we were together for a whole year." Peter said incredulously. "Of course I still care about her." It was quiet on the other end. 

"I thought you were better than that." Ned said, and the line went dead. Peter frowned, and looked at his phone screen. 

"What the hell?" He asked the empty room. His phone began ringing, and it was Harry. Peter let out a sigh and answered it. "You'll never guess what Ned just said to me," Peter said, still surprised by the whole conversation. 

"Yeah, whatever he said was probably right. Anyway, when are you coming over here?" He asked. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Winter break, man. You, me, Ned, and no parental figures. Norman is leaving for a business trip in California." Harry said. 

"That sounds... Terrible." Peter said, rolling his eyes. 

"Anyway, why is Ned texting me, bitching about you?" Harry said, his voice sounding far away as if he was looking at his phone screen. 

"What?" Peter said. "What is wrong with everyone today?" 

"I don't know. It's probably just you." Harry said casually. Peter rolled his eyes. "So are you still hung up on MJ?" Harry asked. 

"No! Stop texting Ned!" Peter yelled. 

"You know her and Brad broke up, right? It's like sophomore year all over again she just sits in the back of the class and reads Jane Eyre. Hey, remember Liz Allen?" Harry asked. 

"Can you, like, shut up?" Peter asked. 

"How is it more girls liked you sophomore year than me? Imagine peaking in high school. Oh wait sorry, not all of us have magical spiders. Hey, do you think I could get bit by a spider? Maybe like a... An Ant. I could be like Ant-Man! Except I would be real because he just uses like a-" 

"Harry!" Peter yelled. 

"Okay, fine! Rant to me. I'm here." Harry said. 

"I don't need to rant." Peter said flatly. 

"Okay, Harry is in therapist mode." 

"Don't talk about yourself in the third person." Peter said, staring at the blank TV. Harry ignored him. 

"Who do you like more? MJ or Betty?" 

"What kind of question is that?" Peter asked, horrified. 

"Wait how big is the ex? Could you take him if you were like, normal?" 

"Ned got this all into one text?" 

"No, it was like several angry texts. He types fast." Harry said. "You know I could hire a hitman. Oh wait, doesn't the government monitor your phone calls? Damn it. Okay, I didn't say that." 

"Okay, I can't talk to you." Peter said. 

"No, no, wait!" Harry said before Peter hung up the phone. He let out a sigh. 

"That's enough of that." He said, letting out a breath. He then stood up and looked out the window. Charles was out front, talking to Polly. Peter went outside and casually walked to the trash cans on the curb. Charles looked over at Peter and smiled. 

"Hey, Peter." He said. Polly looked at Peter, and a small smile formed, as she looked at Charles. Peter chose to ignore it. 

"Hey." He said to Charles. 

"You didn't go to the hospital?" 

"No, it's... More of Betty's thing. What happened to him, anyway? To jughead. Do you know?" Peter asked. 

"He was shot. The bullet hit a lung." He said. Peter nodded. 

"That's awful." He said. 

"Yeah, the whole station is in the Southside." 

"Wait, it happened in the Southside?" Peter asked. 

"Yeah, he was at the Serpent bar. We have reason to believe the same person who shot him, is the person who murdered Kevin and Fangs. This was attempted murder." Charles said. Peter stared at Charles and then began looking around. Both Fred's and May's car was gone. They had met up at a garage where May was getting an oil change. Fred was going to drive her home. 

"I need a car. I need a car right now." Peter said quickly. Charles frowned. 

"Peter, what's wrong?" He asked. 

"I need a car to drive!" Peter yelled. Polly frowned. 

"Here... Just take mine." She said, pulling her keys out of her pocket. She tossed the keys to Peter. "Bring it back." She said, looking disturbed. He hurried over to her car and got in. Both Polly and Charles frowned at each other, confused. Peter started the engine and began driving to the hospital. He had to talk to Jughead. 


	15. Expectations and Reality

Peter had anxiously been tapping the wheel with his fingers. He wanted to talk to Jughead. He _needed_ to talk to Jughead. He felt so close. Jughead had survived. A small voice in his head mocked him. He had a rather dark thought. _What if he had died?_ A voice asked. He bit the inside of his tongue and bounced one of his knees. It was the thought of a teenage boy who was feeling slightly insecure. Not him. He convinced himself of that. He didn't like thinking like that. It wasn't like him. 

When he got to the hospital and walked through the front doors, he saw Archie, Betty, and Veronica sitting down in a waiting room. Archie was standing up, his hands in his pockets, the receptionist looking rather annoyed by the three teenagers. Betty and Veronica were sitting quietly. Archie spotted Peter and frowned. 

"Peter? How did you..." He began, but he noticed the look on Peter's face as he practically ran down the hall. "What the hell?" 

"Where's Jughead?" He asked, grabbing Archie's shoulders. "Where is he, Archie?" Betty and Veronica looked up, both staring at Peter as if he was crazy. 

"He's still in surgery." Archie said, raising an eyebrow. "What are you..." 

"Still?" Peter asked, almost sounding infuriated. Archie looked at Veronica, who licked her bottom lip, and glanced at Betty, who was staring at Peter incredulously. "When is he going to get out?" 

"I don't know, Peter." Archie said. "You're freaking me out." 

"Who found him?" Peter asked. 

"Why don't you sit down?" Archie asked. 

"Who found him, Archie?" Peter asked, more firmly. 

"Toni!" Archie said, putting his hands up. "Toni Topaz." 

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you?" Betty snapped, incredulously. He looked at her as if he just saw her for the first time. She scoffed, standing up, and shoving past him. He disappeared, turning a corner. Both Veronica and Archie looked at him, looking disappointed. Peter looked at where Betty had disappeared, and back at Archie. 

"Thanks." He muttered, before leaving the hospital. 

He could tell being in the Southside was weird to others. He looked like a Northsider. He wasn't wearing his suit, because he planned on talking to Toni. As himself. He got a lot of stares, wearing his jeans and a red flannel over a white t-shirt. He ignored the stares, walking into the Whyte Wyrm. The looks only got worse from there. He looked around until he saw Toni, bartending. He hesitated, before walking over. When she saw him, she smiled, showing a pair of white straight teeth. 

"Well if it isn't Peter Parker." She said, tilting her head. "I don't think I would have ever expected this." He smiled and nodded. 

"Hey." He said softly. 

"Want a drink?" She asked. 

"I'm not twenty-one." He said. She laughed lightly. 

"Peter, I'm bartending. I'm sixteen." She said. He furrowed his eyebrows, at the realization. 

"Right. No thanks anyway." He said softly. She shrugged. 

"Well, why are you here? Sorry but this doesn't look like your scene." 

"It's not. I'm here about Jughead." He said. Her smile faded, and she cocked her head. 

"Oh." She said, paling. 

"I want to know what happened." 

"Why?" She asked, sharply. Her friendliness had decreased. "Jughead hates your guts." She said coldly. Peter raised his eyebrows at that. 

"Oh." He said. Her smile was back.

"Sorry. I thought you knew." 

"Not really." He said honestly. She shrugged. 

"He's good at pretending. So are you." 

"Me? What am I pretending?" 

"You're pretending that you don't care Betty is in the hospital right now, worried sick that her ex-boyfriend could die at any moment. You're pretending like you don't care she's going to be the happiest girl on earth when he turns out to be fine." She said, shrugging. Peter frowned. 

"I don't think that's true." He said, laughing uneasily. 

"That's why you're here, isn't it? So she can think you care about Jughead too. Because you're such a good guy, right?" 

"I don't remember telling anybody that we were..." 

"Peter, lesson one about Riverdale. Veronica Lodge likes to talk." Toni said, shrugging. Peter nodded, as if that made sense. "I like you." She said. 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. You're different." She smiled, and then put her elbows on the bar. "What do you want to know?" Peter swallowed, and then let out a sigh. 

"Who shot him?" 

"No clue. I found him in the woods. He was almost unconscious. Bleeding a shit ton. Babbling stuff. I think he was bat shit crazy from all the blood he lost at that point. He didn't give me a name. I asked him what happened, but he wouldn't tell me. Then I called the police." She shrugged and began to wipe down the bar. Peter nodded. 

"Who do you think shot him?" Peter asked. She looked at him and observed him. 

"You're good." She said. "You must deal with a lot of this stuff. Living in the city and stuff. You're surrounded by it." He shrugged. "Can I see your hand?" 

"Why?" He asked dubiously. She rolled her eyes. 

"Give me your hand." She said. He rolled up his sleeve and held his hand out. She took it and looked at his palm. She hummed, smiling down at his hand. 

"What?" 

"Your lifeline is broken up in several places. That's weird." 

"I don't believe in that stuff." He said flatly. She looked up at him through her lashes. 

"No?" 

"I'm more of a science person." He said. She shrugged, looking down at his palm again. 

"Well, I've never seen a palm-like this one. Everythings... Broken up." She said. He took his hand back. She smirked and continued to wipe down the bar. "You don't like to be touched." She said. It wasn't a question. 

"No." He said. "Not really." 

"You're kind of a weirdo, Parker." She said. 

"Thanks." He grew silent. "You never answered my question." She continued to wipe down the bar. 

"You know, living in a small town sucks. Everybody knows your business. And they judge you off of that. Because they don't really know you." Toni said. Peter was growing impatient. He began to tap his finger against the bar. 

"Yeah?" 

"Yup. Like... I know you watched your uncle die on the street. Which makes you just as messed up as the rest of us." She said. Peter stopped tapping his finger. "Well, it's not a secret. You knew that." She said. 

"Who do you think shot Jughead?" He asked. Toni paused, looking away. 

"I don't know." She said. He could see she meant it. "That's the thing. You never know. When it turned out Chic Smith was the one murdering people I went to high school with, I was shocked. Everyone was. I keep thinking, what if he stabbed Betty to death in that hallway? What then?" She dropped the cloth. "You're in the murder capital of the United States. Nobody's surprised Jughead got shot. Except you, apparently." She said. He knitted his eyebrows together. 

"TT, are you coming to the hospital with-" Cheryl walked over to the bar, and froze when she saw Peter. "Oh. What are _you_ doing here?" She asked. He put his hands in his pockets. 

"I was-" 

"Don't answer that. Why don't you go back to the hole you crawled from?" She asked. Peter looked at Toni and back at Cheryl. Toni rolled her eyes. 

"Cher, relax." She said. 

"I was just leaving." Peter said, turning away. 

"Peter." Toni said. He turned back around and looked at her. "Be careful. You were just seen by seventy Serpents, asking questions." She said. Peter processed this. He nodded, before turning around and heading out the door.

The whole day, Peter waited. He had to pick the perfect time to talk to Jughead. A time where none of his friends were there, but he also had to be awake. He had put his suit on and ended up going to Sweetwater River and messing around.

He took his mask off after two hours and squatted down by the river, letting out a sigh. He looked down at the water and frowned. He read the whole article about how Jason Blossom had been murdered by his own father. Actually, both he and Ned read the article. When he found out he was moving to Riverdale, they looked it up. Usually when you searched up a town, restaurants, and schools would pop up. Instead, articles on all the murders came up. 

They even read the one about Chic Smith and an unknown victim. The article kept Betty's name and information private. But after she told him what happened he put the rest together. He looked out at the slow-moving River and thought about it. He couldn't imagine a parent murdering their own child. He raised an eyebrow at that thought and remembered Liz Allen's father. Not quite the same. He stood up and looked down at his mask. 

The sun was starting to set. He put his mask on and headed home. He was going to get changed, and probably just go to bed. He decided to go to the hospital the next day. Jughead wouldn't be waking up even after surgery anytime soon. When he crawled through the window and took his mask off, he heard a knock at the door. 

"Peter?" Archie asked. 

"Uh, don't come in!" Peter said quickly. He quickly pressed the spider on his chest and practically fell trying to get out of the suit. 

"Okay... Why?" Archie asked. 

"Give me a minute." Peter said, grabbing the heavy case from under his bed and using his thumbprint. A moment later, after he quickly put a shirt on, and shoved the case under his bed, he let out a sigh. "Okay, you can come in now," Peter said. Archie opened the door, with a confused look. 

"What were you doing in here?" Archie asked, slowly. Peter hesitated, squinting his eyes. 

"I was watching porn." He said. Archie raised his eyebrows. 

"You were watching porn?" He asked. 

"Yeah." Peter said. Archie scoffed, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Okay then." He said, walking over to his side of his room. Peter frowned when Archie wasn't looking and shook his head at himself. Archie zipped down his jacket and took it off. He let out a sigh. 

"How is Jughead?" Peter asked. 

"He woke up." Archie said. Peter narrowed his eyes. 

"Are you kidding me?" He asked, incredulously. Archie looked at Peter as if he was crazy. He supposed from someone else's perspective he had been acting crazy lately. Peter cleared his throat. "That's great. What did... What did he say? About getting shot?" 

"He doesn't know anything." Archie said simply. Peter sat down on his bed and observed Archie. 

"No?" 

"He was shot from behind. He was working a shift at the bar, and taking the trash out." Archie said, shrugging. "He doesn't know anything. He barely remembered his name when he woke up. He's pretty out of it." Peter let out a disappointed sigh. Archie studied him. 

"Hey Peter, what's going on?" He asked. Peter looked at him. 

"What do you mean?" He asked. Archie shrugged. 

"You just... I don't know how to explain it. Is it some kind of jealousy thing? Is that why you freaked out in the hospital today?" He asked. 

"What? No, of course not." Peter said quickly. 

"Then what is it? Do you miss Queens, is that it?" Archie asked. "I don't get you, with your nightmares, and where do you go? I'm not playing around anymore, where is it that you go off to? I'm serious, I tried to lay off for the six months you've been here, but that's not working out so." He shrugged. Peter didn't say anything. "I know you went to Queens when you disappeared for two days. I mean what was that? Why do you have panic attacks?" 

"I never had a panic attack." Peter said quietly. 

"That was a panic attack." Archie said firmly. "May was worried about you. Why was she so worried about you?" 

"Maybe because she's my aunt?" Peter said incredulously. Archie shook his head. 

"It's deeper than that." He insisted. "She was acting like you were _dead_. What did you do?" 

"What are you even talking about?" Peter asked, standing up. 

"What happened last year?" Archie asked, standing up as well. "Something happened to you. What is it?" Peter stayed silent. He suddenly began having thoughts. The memories. He squeezed his eyes shut, seeing all of those alien-like dogs crowding around him, while he held onto that gauntlet for dear life. He thought he could take every single one of them. He quickly opened his eyes, and focused on Archie, although he was forgetting how to breathe. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Peter said softly. Archie's eyes drifted down. 

"Your hand's shaking." He said. Peter looked down and moved his hand behind his thigh. "Peter, just-" 

"We are only living together for four more months. I don't have to tell you anything. In four months, I will _leave_ this town and you will never have to see me again. I'm going back to New York City. Got it?" Peter said coldly. Archie didn't say anything for a minute. 

"Does Betty know that?" He asked. Peter scoffed and grabbed his jacket. Archie raised his eyebrows. "Seriously?" 

"Seriously." Peter said, before leaving the room. He walked down the stairs and headed towards the door. He froze when he heard a familiar voice in the kitchen. He frowned, and turned back around, walking in. He saw Happy, Fred, and May around the table. "Happy?" He asked in a small voice. The three adults were smiling as if they were having a humorous conversation. They all looked up at Peter at the sound of his voice. 

"Hey, Peter." He said. Peter looked between him and May. 

"What are you doing here?" Peter asked. Happy shrugged. 

"I can't visit you?" He asked. 

"I just saw you two months ago." Peter said flatly. May rolled her eyes at Fred, and they both stood up. 

"Alright well, you have fun with that." May said, as both her and Fred walked out of the kitchen, with May squeezing Peter's shoulder as she walked past him. He stared at Happy. 

"You look like you just saw a ghost." Happy said. Peter looked away from him. 

"I think I did." Peter muttered. Happy didn't respond to that. 

"Come on, let's take a drive." He said, standing up. Five minutes later, Peter was sitting in the passenger's seat of Happy's black SUV. 

"Nobody owns an SUV in this town." Peter muttered. "You couldn't rent a normal person car?" Happy scoffed at that but made no effort to respond. 

"You're a lot snappier these days." He said nonchalantly. Peter shrugged, looking out the window. 

"Sorry." He said quietly. Happy nodded. 

"Morgan turned seven the other day." He said. Peter began to smile, looking down at his lap. 

"There he is." Happy said, triumphantly. Peter's smile disappeared and he let out a sigh. He pulled out his phone and looked at his home screen. Betty hadn't texted or called since she saw him at the hospital earlier that day. She was probably mad at him. 

"Where are we going?" Peter asked. 

"We're not going anywhere." Happy said. Peter looked out the windshield. 

"I can't stop thinking about Europe." Peter admitted, looking down at his hands. "Or New York. Or... Space. I guess." He said. Happy was quiet for a moment. "Now all I want to do is just find out who's murdering the people I'm going to school with. And I'm tired of avoiding the questions my friends are asking me." He said, looking at Happy. "I'm really tired." 

"I know." Happy said. 

"Why didn't you just let me stay with you when I asked? I would have been fine. I would have been with my friends." 

"Because May needs you, Peter." Happy said, glancing at him. "She gets one more year with you. That's it." Peter didn't say anything to that. "Did you decide where you want to go to college yet?" He asked. 

"Probably NYU." Peter mumbled. Happy frowned. 

"NYU?" He asked. 

"What's wrong with that?" Peter asked. 

"You can do so much better than NYU, Peter." Happy said incredulously. 

"You mean, I should go to MIT." Peter said, shaking his head. 

"I thought you wanted to go to MIT." Happy said. Peter shrugged. "You could have applied in November." 

"I'm still deciding." Peter said. 

"Okay, I get it." Happy said, in exasperation. "I just think MIT would be really good for you." 

"Because that's what _he_ wanted, right?" Peter asked, coldly. 

"You know that's not what I meant." He said, glancing at Peter and then back at the road. Peter shrugged. Happy studied him. 

"I want you to see a doctor." He said. Peter let out a sigh. 

"I don't need a doctor." He said, running his hands through his hair. "I'm not crazy." 

"I never said you were. May says you're not doing great." 

"Oh, great. May's spying on me, now." 

"She's just worried." 

"I'm doing great." Peter said, shrugging. "I actually have a girlfriend now, so." 

"Oh really?" 

"Yup." Peter said. "She's like kind of mad at me right now, but-" 

"Is she that blonde girl next door?" Happy asked. Peter looked at him with a blank stare. 

"Okay, are you part of security, or secret service? Pick one, you can't be both." Peter said. Happy chuckled at that. 

"I saw her get home from somewhere the same time I got to your house. Archie dropped her off, actually." Happy said. Peter rolled his eyes. "What did you do?" He asked. Peter looked at him confused. "Why is she mad?" Peter looked away and shook his head. 

"I was being insensitive." He responded. Happy smiled at that. 

"Really? You, insensitive?" 

"She doesn't understand. I've been working my ass off to make sure she doesn't find out who I am. She is so... Persistent and stubborn, and it bugs me so much. Like, it is physically hard for me to lie to her because I feel like she's reading my mind." Peter explained. Happy chuckled. 

"She sounds like a keeper." He said. 

"I'm just so sick of lying. It's exhausting. You know, they should make one of those memory eraser things. I feel like the government has that. Do they have that? Have you seen Men In Black?" Peter asked, turning to Happy. He was glaring at Peter. He smiled. "Sorry." 

"You are still a fourteen-year-old kid." Happy said, rolling his eyes. 

"I am not." Peter said defensively. 

"Mhm." Happy said doubtfully. 

"Are you going to feed me, or what?" Peter asked. Happy smiled and shook his head. 

"What do you want?" He asked. 

A couple of hours later, Happy was turning onto Peter's street. After they ate, they drove around some more and talked. Peter pointed out everything to Happy and showed him the high school. The dark thoughts Peter had been having, completely disappeared. It felt good. 

"Can you pull up right here?" Peter asked, pointing to Betty's house. Happy nodded and stopped the curb right in front of her house. Peter opened his door, ready to get out. 

"Peter?" Happy said. He looked over his shoulder at Happy. "Come see Pep and the kid when you come back to the city." He said. Peter narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. 

"Uh, I don't know about that-" 

"I'm not asking." Happy said. Peter nodded slowly. 

"Fine." He muttered. "Bye, Happy." He said, getting out of the car, and shutting it behind him. He heard the car roll away behind him as he looked up at Betty's house. He walked up the steps and froze when he heard yelling. 

"Then leave!" Betty yelled from inside. "Do it, I don't care. Nobody will miss you. I'm the only one that mom and dad are hoping to turn out not so screwed up like you and Polly!" She snapped. Peter raised his eyebrows, and turned on his heel, starting to walk back down the stairs. He heard the door open behind him and began towel faster. 

"Peter?" Charles said. He stopped, shutting his eyes. He let out a sigh and turned around. 

"I didn't hear anything." Peter said quickly. Charles smiled and shook his head. 

"You're good. Betty's inside." He said, walking down the stairs. 

"Okay..." Peter said, slowly. Although, he had changed his mind about going to see her. He stared at the closed door, and Charles looked at him, confused. 

"Are you going inside?" He asked. Peter looked at him and nodded. 

"Will I die?" He asked her older brother. 

"Probably." He responded, walking over to his car. Peter nodded, and then walked up the steps. He knocked on the door and waited a moment. He looked down at his feet as he waited. When the door opened, he looked up. Betty looked ready to kill whoever was at the door, but she froze when she saw Peter. Her eyes were red-rimmed and it looked like she had been crying. She quickly turned around and wiped her eyes. 

"What do you want?" She asked, walking back into the house. Peter took a step inside and shut the door behind him before following her into the kitchen. She was facing away from him, at the sink and turning the faucet on. 

"I wanted to say sorry." He said, putting his hands in his pockets. 

"Is that it?" Betty asked. Peter rocked on his feet, looking at the back of her head. "Can you stop having fits and then leaving mysteriously for hours? Or... Days." Betty said, sounding frustrated. 

"Did Archie tell you that?" Peter asked. He smiled at that. "Well, if he asked May she would tell him that I didn't disappear and that I was with a friend." He said softly. Betty scoffed at that. 

"I'm not even going to ask." She muttered. Peter didn't say anything for a moment. 

"Can you look at me? Please?" He asked. She hesitated for a moment, before turning around and looking at him. 

"What?" She snapped. He walked up to her slowly. 

"I'm sorry. I was inconsiderate, and... I don't like it when people get shot." He said. Betty frowned. 

"That's a weird thing to say." She said. Peter let out a sigh. 

"I wanted to know if Jughead was awake because I was going to ask him who shot him." Peter said. "Because whoever shot him is the murderer." 

"Why do you care?" Betty asked. 

"Because my uncle was shot and killed in front of me. And I thought I could help." Peter said simply. Betty's face slowly changed, and she looked him up and down. 

"I didn't know that." She said softly. 

"I don't like to talk about it." He said, shrugging. Betty closed her mouth and nodded. 

'If you don't talk about those things it's going to tear you apart inside." She said quietly. Peter smiled and nodded. 

"I know." He said. She let out a sigh, and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her cheek on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. 

"Have you ever lied to me about anything?" Betty asked. "Would you ever lie to me?" Peter stared at the sink over her shoulder, feeling that stupid pit in that stomach. The guilt. He shook his head. 

"No." He said. He suddenly felt like throwing up. She pulled away and smiled at him. 

"Okay." She said. "You look tired." 

"I am tired." He said honestly. 

"Go home." She said. "I'll call you tomorrow." He nodded, and she kissed him softly. He left and pulled out his phone as he walked down the sidewalk. 

"I was about to go to bed-" Ned began. 

"I'm going to tell her." Peter said. 

"What?" 

"I need to tell her. I'm going to tell her." 

"Okay, calm down. What is going on?" Ned asked. Peter had called him and was walking toward his house. 

"I can't do this anymore. I think I'm just going to tell her. You found out by accident. Harry found out by accident. Okay, even MJ found out, by accident. That wasn't an accident, but I never told her! I'm going to tell Betty, and she won't have to find out. I'll just tell her." Peter said quickly. 

"You are talking a million miles per hour, chill." Ned said. "Okay, she doesn't need to know at all." 

"Yes she does. I can't do it, I can't keep looking her in the eyes and saying that I am totally not the guy who she hated at the beginning of the year." 

"She never even accused you of being Spider-Man." 

"No, but I mean, she's thought it. Of course, she's thought it. She just never said the words out loud. She's going to ask. I know it, she's going to ask me one day and I'm not going to be able to say no." Peter stood in front of the house but made no attempt to go inside. 

"You're making a big deal out of nothing." 

"No I'm not. Maybe I should just tell the whole world. That's a good idea, yeah?" 

"No." Ned said incredulously. 

"I'm an Avenger, right? Maybe I should act like one." 

"Technically." Ned said. "You are retired." 

"I'm seventeen." 

"There are no avengers levels threat happening, you're retired." Ned said. 

"Okay, but I'm not retired-" 

"It's a stupid idea, Peter!" Ned said. "Go to sleep, it's late. Alright, hopefully, you will stop acting insane in the morning." 

"She deserves to know." 

"Why are you not telling her, Peter? Huh?" Ned asked. Peter frowned. "It's not to protect your identity, she won't tell anyone. So why?" 

"To... Protect her?" 

"Exactly. Just keep telling yourself that." He said, and before Peter could respond, he hung up. He looked at his phone and clenched his jaw before walking into the house. 

The next day, he woke up to someone shaking him. It was probably the best he had slept in a long time. He let out a groan and turned away to whoever was shaking him. He covered his head with his blanket. 

"Go away." He muttered. 

"Wake up." Archie's voice said. "I guess you don't want your present." He said nonchalantly. Peter moved the blanket and looked up at Archie. 

"What?" He said. 

"May and Fred got you something." 

"My birthday isn't until August." Peter said flatly. 

"Does it have to be your birthday? Come on." Archie left the room, and Peter rolled his eyes. He came down the stairs five minutes later and walked into the kitchen. 

"It's six in the morning." He said glumly, looking at the three people he lived with. May was holding a mug in her hands, and wearing her big round glasses. 

"Go check the driveway." She said dismissively. Peter frowned, and looked at Archie, who had his arms crossed over his chest and was leaning against the counter. Peter turned around, and opened the door, walking out until he saw the driveway. He stopped in his tracks and stared at the gray car in the driveway. He then walked back into the house and into the kitchen.

"Is there somebody here?" Peter asked. May looked at him incredulously. 

"Oh, Peter. Honey, you're so smart, but you're lacking in common sense. We got you a car." May said. Peter frowned, and looked over his shoulder and back at them. 

"You got me a car?" 

"I'm not driving you all the way back to Queens." May said, shrugging. "Pay for your own gas." Peter put a hand on the back of his head, and let out a sigh. 

"Yeah, you can drive yourself to school, now too." Archie said, smiling sarcastically. 

"So I can go to Queens for winter break?" Peter asked May. It had been the plan the whole time but every time he asked, she wouldn't give him a for sure answer. She would say 'maybe' or 'I'll think about it.' 

"Yeah." She said, shrugging. "You better not get any tickets." She warned. 

"I won't." He said softly. He let out another laugh. "Thank you. Both of you." He said, looking between May and Fred. He went back outside to get a closer look at the car. 


	16. Falling Stars

Betty was doing her homework by her desk, and she looked up at the calendar. Winter Break was in three days. She looked back down at her homework. Peter had told her about his plans to go to Queens, and she was fine with it. She was happy for him that he was going to see his friends. Winter Break was three weeks long, and he was going on the second week for four days. It wasn't that long. She was happy for him when he got a car. They drove around in it for a little while. 

She looked at a picture on her desk. The first day of school sophomore year. It was Betty, Veronica, and Kevin. She put the picture down, face down. She stood up, and walked over to her mirror, opening her drawer and taking the orange prescription bottle out. She took two pills out and swallowed them raw. She stared at herself in the mirror for a minute after. She jumped when she heard her phone's ringtone. She cleared her throat before answering it. 

"Hello?" She said, softly. 

"Betty? You alright?" Toni asked. Betty nodded as if she could see her. 

"Uh, yeah. What's up?" 

"Are you going to Cheryl's party Saturday?" 

"I don't know. I think I have party PTSD after last time." She said. It was meant to be a joke, but it came out sounding lame. 

"I understand." Toni said simply. 

"Should we really be having parties right now?" Betty asked. 

"I mean, nobody seems to really mind. You know, getting drunk and forgetting that they could be the next one that's murdered. It's kind of strange, only teenagers are dying. It's scary." Toni said. "How are you holding up? After Kevin, and Fangs." 

"God, Toni. How are you? If I lost my brother, I don't know what I'd do." Betty said. Bringing up Charles made her suddenly feel sick. She had been arguing with Charles a lot lately. He came by the house less. They mostly argued when their parents weren't around. Betty let out a sigh. She knew she was in the wrong. She blamed Charles. She blamed him for Kevin, Fangs, and even Jughead. It was awful. But she wanted to blame someone. 

"I'm coping." Toni said. 

"Good." Betty said softly. She looked out her window, looking at the trees outside. "Maybe I will come to the party." 

"No pressure." Toni said. "You haven't asked how Jughead's doing." 

"Am I supposed to?" Betty asked. She paused, for a moment. "How is he?" 

"Well, he's uh, scared. He would never admit that though. You know how he is." 

"Is he still dealing drugs?" Betty asked spitefully. Toni let out a sigh. 

"Come on, Betty." She said quietly. "That's not fair." 

"It doesn't matter." Betty said. "I don't care." Her eyes drifted to Peter's car in Archie's driveway. 

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Toni asked. Betty nodded. 

"See you Saturday." She said. 

Five minutes later, Betty was knocking on the door, at Archie's house. Fred opened the door. He smiled when he saw her. 

"Hey, Betty." He said. 

"Hey, Fred." Betty said softly. "Peter here?" 

"He went to get eggs for May." Fred said. "He should be back soon though if you want to wait." 

"His car is here." Betty said flatly. Fred looked over her shoulder. 

"He probably walked. He's trying to save gas." Fred said. Betty nodded. 

"Okay." She said, curtly. He moved and she came inside. She went up the stairs to his room and began to wait for him. She looked around his room while she waited, and noticed his laptop was open on his desk. She looked at the desktop and frowned. There were files everywhere, that covered the entire screen. They were all labeled weird stuff. Numbers and random letters. One stood out to her. She squinted her eyes. It was labeled "A film by Peter Parker." She clicked on the file and saw there was a single video inside. She stared at the video file for what seemed like a long time. 

"Betty?" She heard from behind her. She turned around to see Peter standing there, taking his earbuds out. 

"Oh, hey." She said. She frowned and looked back at his laptop. "What's 'A film by Peter Parker'?" She asked. He looked at the laptop, and walked over, shutting it. 

"Nothing." He said. "It's just a stupid video I made when I was fourteen." He said simply. She raised her eyebrows. 

"Well if it's so stupid, can I see it?" 

"No." He said. She laughed lightly. 

"Come on, let me see." She said. 

"You don't need to see it, Betty." He said seriously. She had been playful about it, but his tone was dead serious. Her smile faded, and she nodded. 

"Fine. I was just joking." She said. She sat down on his bed, and he put his hands in his pockets, looking guilty. "Are you going to Cheryl's party?" Betty asked. 

"Who?" Peter said, furrowing his eyebrows. Betty raised her eyebrows. 

"Cheryl Blossom. Redhead." Betty said. 

"Oh. Why would I go to her party?" He asked. 

"Because you went last time." 

"I was forced." 

"Or you could go because I'm going." Betty said, staring at him. 

"Why would you go to her party if she treats you badly?" He asked. 

"She doesn't treat me badly." Betty said, incredulously. "She's my cousin." Peter stared at her, looking utterly confused. 

"She's your _cousin_?" He asked. Betty rolled her eyes. "What? I didn't know that." 

"Of course you didn't." Betty muttered. 

"Why are you getting so mad at me?" Peter asked. 

"I'm not getting mad at you." Betty said, her voice getting defensive. 

"I don't want to go to a party what's so wrong with that?" 

"Why are you so secretive?" Betty asked. Peter stared at her, puzzled. 

"What?" 

"What do you have to hide?" 

"Nothing." 

"So I can't see a video you think is stupid?" 

"No." 

"Why not?" 

"Because-" He closed his eyes and rubbed the balls of his hands over them. She observed him. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. "Because it's just a stupid video, I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of everything I say." He said. When he looked at her again, she wasn't looking at him. 

"Alright." She said. "Don't go to the party." She said, standing up. "I'll just see you later." Peter let out a sigh. She opened the door, and he quickly walked over and shut it. 

"Peter, what are you doing-" 

"I'm sorry." He said quickly. She stared at him, with an eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry. Please, just... Don't go." She was silent for a moment. 

"Are you doing drugs?" She asked. His eyes widened. 

"What? No!" He said. She looked at him silently for a moment before smiling and starting to laugh. "What... What's so funny?" 

"I know you're not doing drugs, I just wanted you to do that thing with your voice." She said, still laughing. 

"What thing?" 

"Where you start to sound like a little girl and your voice goes up live five octaves." She said. His jaw dropped, and she began to laugh harder. 

"My voice does not do that." He said defensively. 

"No, no. It's very attractive." She said, trying to keep a straight face before she began to laugh again. He suddenly bent down, and she frowned. 

"What are you doing-" She let out a gasp when he grabbed her legs and threw her over his shoulder. She laughed as he carried her over to his bed and dropped her. She giggled, watching as he climbed onto the bed and got between her legs. 

"Are you going to say my voice is high pitched again?" He asked. 

"I didn't say it was high pitched, I said it gets high pitched-" She was cut off when he kissed her. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck. She let out a soft moan when he pulled away from her mouth and began to kiss her neck. "Owe, Peter." She said. He looked at her. 

"What?" He asked quickly. 

"You're on my hair." She said, and he quickly moved his arm. "Let me get on top." He let out a sigh and moved.

She got up and he moved so his back was against the headboard, before she got on his lap. She began to giggle as she kissed him, sliding her fingers through his hair. She slowly began to move her hips, as they kissed, grinding into him. She began to feel warmth between her legs. She started kissing his neck, hearing him let out a long sigh, and drop his head back against the headboard. He turned his head, looking at the clock on his nightstand. 

"Hey, Betty." He said. 

"Hm?" She pulled back and looked at him. "What's wrong?" 

"I have to go." He said. The smile she had faded. 

"What? Why?" She asked. 

"I..." He raised his eyebrows. "Have to study. For a test." She looked at him in disbelief. 

"Winter Break is in three days." She said flatly.

"It's a final." He said. She let out a scoff, looking away from him.

"You're an _asshole_." She said, getting off of him. He quickly sat up. 

"What? What did I do?" He asked quickly.

"I just find it amazing that you are a teenage boy and you would rather go _study_ than make out with your girlfriend." She said. 

"Betty, you know that's not what I meant." He began.

"You're a fucking genius Peter, how much do you need to study?" She snapped, before leaving his room, and slamming the door shut behind her. Peter let out a groan and laid back in his bed, grabbing onto his hair. Suddenly his door opened, and he sat up, expecting it to be Betty. It was Fred. He looked exasperated.

"No more... Yelling girlfriends." Fred said. He looked at Peter for a second and pressed his lips together. "You might want to take care of that, before leaving your room." He said, before closing the door. Peter stared at the closed door in confusion for a second, before he looked down.

"Ugh." He grabbed a pillow from behind him and put it on his lap, over his jeans, hiding his erection. He glared up at the ceiling.

"I deserve this." He muttered to himself. 

The next night, Betty went to the party by herself, and immediately found Veronica and Archie. She needed to talk to Veronica, but she would wait patiently until Archie wasn't around. She noticed the bond Archie and Peter had grown and she had a feeling whatever she said, he would tell Peter. Which she did not want. So she drank, and hung out with them.

The party was out by Cheryl's pool, and a bunch of fairy lights was set up everywhere, with tables for kegs and alcohol. When Betty and Veronica ended up alone by one of the tables by the pool, Betty decided to tell her about her experience the day before in Peter's room. 

"Is my relationship toxic?" Betty asked. "Oh please don't tell me my relationship is toxic." Veronica laughed. 

"Your relationship isn't toxic. You don't want to be one of those couples who never fight. It's so boring. Where's the makeup sex?" Veronica asked. Then she looked at Betty. 

"Sorry, you're a Peter virgin." 

"What's a Peter virgin?" 

"It's where you're not a virgin but you've never had sex with Peter so you're a Peter virgin." 

"That's... Gross." 

"Thanks I just came up with it myself." 

"Anyway, I get that it's fine to argue, but is it normal to argue about three separate things in ten minutes?" Betty asked. Veronica opened her mouth to answer but suddenly Toni appeared. 

"Are we talking about toxic relationships? Oh, juicy. Who has a toxic relationship? I'm thinking... Veronica?" She asked. Veronica frowned. 

"Uh, no." She said, sounding offended. Betty smiled. 

"No, actually. It's me. Although I'm still not sure if it's toxic or not." 

"It's not toxic!" Veronica said. "Is he hurting you? No. Is he controlling you? Hell no, he couldn't if he tried." Veronica said. Betty raised her eyebrows at that. 

"Oh yeah, Peter Parker? Definitely not. I can't see him as toxic. Are you toxic?" Toni asked Betty. 

"I hope not." Betty said. "Is keeping a secret from your significant other that is probably a life-changing secret that he wants nobody to know but it seems important so you feel like you should know but he won't tell you toxic?" Betty asked. Both Toni and Veronica stared at her silently. 

"I knew it." Veronica said. "Peter's a prostitute. I called it from day one." Toni laughed at that, and Betty rolled her eyes. "You're being paranoid again. If you're going to be like this why are you with Peter?" 

"Because I..." Betty stared at Veronica for a moment. "I like Peter." She eventually said. 

"Oh thank god I thought you were going to say you loved him." Toni said. "Let's not go down that road." Veronica smiled into her plastic cup. 

"Anyway." Veronica said. "He'll tell you when he's ready." 

"Okay, so why did he throw me off of him when we were kissing?" Betty asked. Toni frowned at that. 

"Is Peter gay?" She asked. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. I mean, hey..." Toni put her hands up and took a sip from her cup. 

"No..." Betty said slowly. "I'm ninety percent sure he's not gay. His body reacts fine, he just uses his head too much." Veronica's eyes widened at that. "And I'm officially done drinking," Betty said, putting her cup down. 

"I doubt Peter's gay anyway." Veronica said, looking at Toni. "Speaking of, Archie caught Peter watching porn." Both Betty and Toni's eyes widened. 

"What?" Toni yelled. "Like he walked in while Peter was-"

"No." Veronica said quickly. "He was acting all weird when Archie came home. He knocked on the door, of course, and Peter was all freaked out. So when Archie asked him what he was doing and Peter straight up said he was watching porn." Toni began laughing. 

"Okay, I didn't think Parker had it in him. Sorry, Betty. Although I don't think you were supposed to find out so. But no seriously, porn is gross. I would think Peter would be more into magazines." 

"This whole conversation is gross." Betty said, making a face of disgust. She then looked at Veronica. "That doesn't sound like Peter." Veronica shrugged. 

"It happens." 

"No, I mean, even if he would watch that, Peter would make it an effort not to let anyone find out. He wouldn't admit to it." Betty said. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean, he was hiding something." 

"Something worse than watching porn? What's worse than that? I could list ten reasons why I hate porn right now and why it should be illegal." Toni said. 

"We will do that later when I am drunk." Veronica said. "No but seriously, you're making it deeper than it is. Boys watch porn. I'm now uncomfortable so we should move on before I throw up at the thought of Peter-" 

"Okay!" Betty said quickly. "You don't have to say it. Moving on." Betty said, putting her hands up. Toni began to laugh. 

"Anyway, how long have you guys been dating now?" Toni asked. 

"Three weeks." Betty said. 

"So are you already past that touchy stage or..." 

"Isn't the touchy stage supposed to be at the very beginning?" Veronica asked. 

"It's about preference." Toni responded. 

"Preference? There's an order." 

"There's no order, some people are awkward at the beginning." 

"Then why would you get with someone you're going to be awkward with?" Veronica asked. 

"Look, we know you lost your virginity when you were fifteen, everyone's different." Toni said. Betty stood there, listening to them with her arms crossed over her shoulders. Veronica's jaw dropped. 

"This is a no slut-shaming vicinity." She said, motioning to the area around them. Betty turned her head and watched as someone jumped into the pool from the roof. She winced at the sight. 

"I wasn't slut-shaming you, I was just stating facts." Toni said. 

"Okay, I still feel like shit." Betty declared. Both Toni and Veronica looked at her. "That is his fault, I'm blaming him." 

"Why isn't he here, anyway?" Veronica asked. 

"He didn't want to come. That would be argument number one of the day, I believe." 

"You argued because he wouldn't come to the party?" 

"Okay, that was because I was mad that he was hiding the video, which leads to argument number two. And then he made me feel all gross and bad about myself after I totally... Got all on top of him." Betty said. 

"Okay, Peter's literally the most clueless boy I've ever met. I wouldn't blame him, I would blame his lack of knowledge on when to study and when to pay attention to his girlfriend." Toni said, before shrugging. "Peter's a sweetheart." 

"I don't get why he has to study, he interned for Tony Stark." Betty mumbled. Toni's eyes widened. 

"He did what?" She asked. 

"You didn't know?" 

"So he's met this man?" Toni asked. 

"That's part of the internship, yes." Betty said. 

"My respect for Peter went-" Toni made her hand go up in the sky. 

"Don't let Jughead know about your new fascination." Veronica retorted. Betty chose to ignore that. 

"Anyway." She said. "I don't want to talk to Peter anymore." 

"Good." Veronica said. "Do we need to give you girlfriend advice, Toni?" Veronica asked. 

"Nope. I, unlike you two, don't have to worry about stupid boys." She said. 

"Mhm, very funny. I'm ready to get drunk. Anyone else?" Veronica asked. Both Betty and Toni nodded. Archie walked over suddenly, and they all looked at him. 

"Hey, carrot top." Toni said. 

"Hey guys." He said. They all looked over to where a bunch of football players were whooping and making noise. 

"What's going on over there?" Betty asked. Archie rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Chuck came to visit. He's on winter break right now." Archie said. Betty felt a pit in her stomach. 

"Chuck Clayton?" She asked. Archie nodded. 

"Yeah." He said. Betty looked at Veronica, who suddenly looked worried. The same Chuck Clayton who graduated the year before. 

"What is he doing here?" Betty asked, looking at Toni. Toni put her hands up. 

"Cheryl didn't invite her." Toni said. 

"I need to use the bathroom." Betty said, beginning to back away. 

"Use the master bedroom one. Nobody's allowed in there, it will be empty." Toni said. Betty didn't respond before walking up the hill and into the house. She did what Toni said and went into the master bedroom, ignoring the sign that said nobody was to go in there. 

Betty stood in the clean bathroom, turning on the faucet and hearing the small squeak of the handle. She could hear the faded beats of the music from outside. She leaned down, cupping her hands, and splashing some water onto her face. She stood straight up, and turned the sink off, watching as the water disappeared down the drain. She let out a sigh and looked at herself in the mirror. 

She stood there like that for a moment, before turning to her side, and slowly lifting up her shirt. She looked in the mirror, at the scar on her hip. The scar that used to be a red line, but eventually faded back into her skin color. She heard footsteps, and quickly put her shirt down. She walked back into the bedroom and looked at the empty space. 

Her phone began to vibrate in her pocket, and she pulled it out, looking at her home screen. Peter was calling her. She hit decline and put the phone back into her pocket. She sat on the bed, feeling the velvet-colored sheets. She felt like she was being watched, and her eyes drifted to the window on the far side of the room. All she saw were trees. She was about to walk over to the window, but she had a visitor. 

"There you are." Chuck Clayton said. Betty looked at him, walking into the room. She let out a sigh and looked away from him. 

"Stalk much?" She asked. He ignored her. 

"I can't believe people are getting murdered again. Riverdale never fails to amaze me. Are you the one going around murdering people?" He asked, shutting the door behind him. Betty looked at the door, and back at him. The only light in the room was the bright white light spilling in from the bathroom. 

"Sure. If that will make you go away." She said. He chuckled at that. 

"Nah. I think drowning people is more of your thing. Shooting people? Probably not. Hey, remember when you almost drowned me? Do you still have the wig?" He asked. Betty stood up and walked toward the door. 

"I'm not doing this." She muttered. He suddenly grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her back. "Let me go!" She yelled. He shoved her against the wall and got in her way. "What are you going to do, Chuck? Rape me? How pathetic. I thought you only spread rumors. Why can't you get over something that happened two years ago?" 

"Because you almost killed me!" He yelled in her face. She closed her eyes, before opening them again. 

"Maybe I should have finished the job." She said. 

"You're still a psycho." He growled. "You like humiliating guys? Maybe I should humiliate you." Her eyes widened when he unbuttoned her pants. She quickly started shoving his hands away, but with one hand, he took both her wrists and moved them out of the way. 

"Stop! What are you doing?" She yelled in horror. He shoved her pants down, and her breathing began to quicken. "Stop it, Chuck, right now!" She screamed. Suddenly, the window shattered and Chuck frowned, looking at the glass all over the floor. Betty quickly pulled her pants up and kneed him as hard as she could between the legs. He let out a groan, and moved away from her, groping his groin. That was beginning to be her new favorite thing. 

"What the hell." He said in a pained voice. 

"Don't you ever fucking touch me again." She spat, before walking to the door and leaving, slamming it shut behind her. She quickly buttoned her pants as she walked down the stairs of the house, moving through crowds of people.

She left the house and went around to the side where there wasn't anyone around. She leaned her shoulder against the side of the house, and put a hand on her forehead, letting out a breath. She shut her eyes, trying to keep it together. When she felt a hand touch her shoulder, she quickly turned around, taking several steps away. 

"It's just me!" Peter said quickly. Betty let out a sigh, glaring at him. She then began to shove him as hard as she could, repeatedly. 

"I thought I told you to stop doing that!" She yelled. He put his hands up in surrender. 

"I'm sorry." He said, rushing his words. "Are you okay?" 

"No I'm not fucking okay, what the fuck Peter?" She yelled. "Where did you come from?" 

"I just got here." He said softly. "I saw you walk over here." She ran a shaky hand through her hair and bit her lip. "Why are you shaking?" He asked. 

"Please, just leave me alone." She said, walking past him. 

"Betty." He said. She turned around, looking at him expectantly. "I came here to apologize." 

"I don't want your stupid apology." 

"Well, you're getting my stupid apology, so." He said, putting his hands in his pockets. "You make me nervous. Like, really nervous." 

"That's a pretty shitty apology." She said, and he smiled. He was quiet for a moment. "Why do I make you nervous?" She asked softly. 

"Because you're amazing." Peter said. "You're really... Stubborn, and strong. And smart. And you're beautiful. And that makes me nervous because I say a lot of stupid stuff. Like I have to go study." He scoffed and bit the inside of his cheek. "I'm sorry, I'm an idiot." He said quietly. Betty looked away from him and let out a shaky sigh. "Betty, what happened?" Peter asked. 

"Can we just... Not talk about it?" She asked in a small voice. He nodded quietly. She looked off into the trees opposite the house, and back at him. The only sound filling the space was the faint sound of music and chatter and crickets in the woods. "I'm going home." She said quietly, walking past him. She heard him begin to follow her. 

"Have you been drinking?" He asked. 

"Go away, Peter." She warned. 

"Seriously, you shouldn't be driving." He said, walking behind her. She ignored him, feeling her throat close up as she fought back tears. She walked to her car and opened her door. He only shut it closed almost as soon as she opened it. 

"Peter." She said firmly. 

"You know what happens when you drink alcohol?" He asked. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. 

"I'm sober enough to drive." She said. He ignored her. 

"It lowers all five of your senses, and when your senses are lowered, your reaction rate is a lot slower, so what happens if you run a red light because you don't see it at first and then-" 

"Can you just stop schooling me?" She snapped. "Just let me go." 

"Let me drive you home." He said. She groaned in frustration. 

"Why were you so jumpy back there?" He asked. 

"I'll start answering your questions when you answer mine!" She yelled. He closed his mouth and looked down at the grass. Betty looked away from him and impatiently moved her knee back and forth. 

"Why are you still mad at me?" He asked in a soft voice. 

"I'm not mad at you Peter, I just-" She let out a sigh. "I want you to let me get in my car." 

"Yeah, well I don't want you to get in your car." He said harshly. "I want you... to get in my car." He said, lowering his voice. Betty stared at him for a moment. 

"Fine." She whispered. He held out his hand without saying anything, and she shook her head, before dropping her keys onto the floor and walking away. Peter raised his eyebrows, before shaking his head and picking up her keys, following her to his car, which was parked a few feet away. They both got into the car silently. 

The whole car ride was silent. Betty had been digging her nails into her palm with one hand, hiding the hand behind her thigh. Peter glanced at her every couple of minutes, and Betty pretended not to notice as she looked out the window, at the passing shadows. When the car came to a stop, and she realized they were outside her house, she didn't get out. She only stared at the big house, that now seemed so unrecognizable. As if it wasn't the house she spent seventeen years of her life in. She looked at the dark windows, wondering how many of the occupants were awake, and how many were asleep. 

"Betty?" Peter said softly. His voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she realized that she forgot he was there. She forgot she was sitting in his car, and he was waiting for her to get out only so she could ignore him for the rest of the weekend. She turned her head and looked at him. His forehead was creased, and he looked worried as if she would shatter into a million pieces any second. 

"I don't want to go in there." She whispered into the darkness. "I'm afraid of being alone." She looked at Peter, studying him. He usually looked so young for his age. He usually had a light in his eyes that made him all too innocent, and enthusiastic. But now, he looked ten years older than he was, and it was as if he knew exactly what she was feeling all too well. Betty wondered if she would ever know what caused him to be that way. 

"Where do you want to go?" He eventually asked. She only stared out the windshield, at the dark street ahead, being lit up by a single street light. 

Ten minutes later, the car was parked by Sweetwater River and both of them had reclined their chairs back, so they could sit silently in the dark and look at the stars out the windshield. Betty lay slightly on her side, with her legs pulled up onto her seat. They hadn't spoken to each other in what seemed like forever. When Betty looked over at Peter, she couldn't see his eyes. 

"Do you wish you never moved here?" She asked, her voice sounding foreign to her ears. Peter didn't answer for a few minutes, and she almost thought he had fallen asleep. 

"No." He finally said. Betty looked at the dark sky, filled with stars. 

"I'm still mad at you." She said, looking over at him. He smiled softly. 

"You'll get over it." He said. 

"What would happen if a star fell? Just... fell." She asked. She listened to the crickets outside, and the sound of the slow-moving water. It was peaceful. 

"It would burn up before it reaches the atmosphere." Peter mumbled. "It's just a bunch of gases. And light." Betty nodded, closing her eyes momentarily, and then opening them again. 

"Where are you going to go after high school?" Betty asked. 

"Back to Queens." Peter said simply. He glanced over at Betty, and then quickly back out the windshield. She suddenly looked out her window, and sat up straight, putting her legs down on the floor of the car. She took her shirt off, and Peter looked at her before his eyes widened and he quickly looked away. "What are you doing?" He asked, panicking. 

"I'm going swimming." She said, opening her door. 

"What?" He asked incredulously. "Betty, it's freezing out!" He called, but she had already shut the door. "Damn it." He muttered, before opening his own door and getting out, shutting it behind him, and following her. He watched as she walked back towards the water, giggling as she started to take her pants off. Peter nervously avoided looking at her body. "Betty come on, put your clothes back on." He pleaded. She ignored him, and turned around, wading slowly into the water. 

"Come on!" She called. He looked around as if he expected somebody to appear. 

"You're going to get sick." He said, his tone serious. She rolled her eyes, before laughing some more, and swimming away. "Betty!" He called. 

"Just come in the water, Peter it's not that cold." She said. He scoffed and glared at her. She made a pouting face at him. "Please?" He watched her for a moment before shaking his head. 

"Fine. Fine." He said. She smiled, showing her teeth. He walked toward the shore, and slowly took his shirt off. He dropped it on the ground and looked around before unzipping his pants. "This is so stupid." He muttered, before pulling his pants down. He could feel Betty watching him, and he chose to ignore it. After taking his shoes off, he finally went into the water. He let out a long breathe once he was in. "It's freezing." He breathed out. Betty giggled and swam over to him. 

"It's not that bad." She said. "You're overreacting." 

"I am not." He said. She smiled and waded over to him before she wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled at her and placed his hands on her waist. He looked around at the dark murky water and back at her. "I guess this isn't so bad. Besides the fact, all of my organs are probably shutting down." She laughed and bit her lip, watching him. She scooped up some water with one hand and dumped it onto his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, and shook his head. "Thanks." He muttered. 

"You're welcome." She said through her laughter. She then moved his wet, matted hair off his forehead, and looked into his light brown eyes. "Close your eyes." She whispered. He looked at her, glancing down between them before he looked back at her eyes. He closed his eyes. Betty watched as his Adam's apple bobbed, as he swallowed. 

She smiled, before kissing him slowly. She touched the hair on the back of his neck, while he kissed her back. The soft kiss turned into a passionate one, and she felt his tongue begin to press against hers. It was warm and peaceful. She pulled away after a moment, and let out a sigh. 

"It's cold." She said quietly. Peter laughed lightly. 

"Now you think it's cold?" He asked. She nodded, leaning her head on his neck. "Come on." He said, taking her hand. He leads her up to the shore before quickly grabbing their clothes. They both ran back to the car, getting into the back and putting their clothes on. Peter shivered as he reached up to the front and turned the car on so he could turn the heat on. Betty's teeth chattered, as she hugged herself. Peter looked at her, and then reached into the back, grabbing a sweatshirt. "Put this on." He said, handing it to her. She smiled at him before taking it and bringing it over her head. 

"Thanks." She muttered. She watched as he closed his eyes and breathed in, letting out a shaky breath. Betty then slowly climbed onto his lap, and he watched as she began to straddle him. She rested her forearms on his shoulders and looked down at him. "Is this better?" She whispered. He could only nod. 

She smiled and brought her mouth to his once more, letting the heat of their mouths collide. She felt something firm and hard press against the inside of her leg a moment later, and let out a small moan. Peter let his forehead drop onto her shoulder, his breath hot against her skin despite the cold.

“Peter,” she moaned, rolling her hips against him. He let out a strangled sound, and stopped her, grabbing her hips. 

“Don’t,” he said. She looked down at him, and when he lifted his head to look at her he smiled. “Not like this,” he said softly. He didn’t tell her that she had also been drinking and that there was no way he was touching her with alcohol in her system. She nodded, still smiling. 

They just stared at each other in the dark for what seemed like the longest time. “Come to Queens with me,” Peter said.

“What?” Betty’s smile fell. 

“Come to Queens with me,” he repeated. “Meet my friends.” 

She laughed and stared at him incredulously. “Okay,” she breathed, and his smile widened. She leaned down and kissed him, unable to help her laughter.


End file.
